BEYOND BARS: Prison Women Speak

Dame Tadia Rice is a first-time filmmaker who is also an on-air personality with a weekly radio show on the global digital radio station WOMan Radio.
In 2000 Rice founded the Tahirih Association, a non-profit that fosters the advancement of women and girls around the world by providing education scholarships, and supporting a food program and a safe house for women and their families in South Africa. The Tahirih Association has also provided sanitary napkins to targeted granted education scholarships to 22 girls and women in six countries: Lakota/Oglala Nation (1); Liberia (10); Honduras (1); Namibia (1); South Africa (1); United States (8). In 2012 Tadia created the BEYOND BARS: Prison Women Speak in-prison program and spent ten years volunteering at the Women’s Correctional Center, the only prison for women in Hawai`i. In 2023 she created the BEYOND BARS Reentry Program for women being released from that facility. Now Executive Director of this innovative reentry program she oversees restoration/rehabilitation services that offer optimal healing within a construct of conscious transformation for personal growth and successful reentry into the community. Using educational methodologies, the program is intended to reduce recidivism by providing a 25-module Personal Development curriculum and recovery system that addresses social and cultural determinants, mentoring, skillset development, employment opportunities, and more. Documenting her work in-prison work, Tadia’s first-ever film, BEYOND BARS: Prison Women Speak, is a testament to her dedicated work to uplift women.
Formerly Rice was a multidisciplinary executive with more than 20 years of international experience in senior management and media, using design thinking and innovative business strategies. She is an expert in organizational dynamics with diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competence at the forefront. Rice has extensive experience in enterprise transformation for multiple sectors and diverse industries. Trained by Fortune 500 companies, she understands issues, challenges, and new perspectives using lateral, vertical, and indigenous thinking. Rice Inspires confidence and creates trust using emotional intelligence and successful management coaching. She effectively negotiates strategic alliances using excellent relationship-building skills. Rice is known for creating vision, defining strategy, and achieving success using a consultative approach to build consensus. Recognized for excellence in communications, with strong organizational writing, verbal, inter-personal communication skills, as well as public relations/public information practice, Rice has trained shakers and movers in thought-leadership, corporate mediation, business resource allocation, team building, employee performance, professional development, and company culture amelioration. As an speaker in demand, Rice is an author and expert contributor to industry publications on numerous subjects including gender issues, climate mitigation, cultural competence, artificial intelligence, technology, international affairs, incarceration, expressive arts, social justice, and more. Serving Hawai‘i Maoli (US 501.c.3 established in 1997) as Board Secretary for six years Rice helped direct this fiscal sponsor and project manager to Hawaiian civic organizations and Native Hawaiians to empower cultural practices for economic benefit. She maximized fundraising to expand donor development, and provided oversight of operational procedures, grant writing, and business practices to meet the requirements of stakeholders and regulators. Hawai‘i Maoli implemented 25+ projects worth $12.5M.
Rice is a global citizen with a passion for people and our world. For her service to several communities Rice has been honored by the City and County of Honolulu; United States Congress; California State Senate; and the United Nations Association. In 2022 Rice received the Stars of Oceania Leadership Award from the University of Hawaii. Prior to that she became a Medalist of Honor from the prestigious Ellis Island Honors Society, and in 2016 she was inducted as a Dame Knight by the Orthodox Order of Saint John, a preeminent international relief organization.