Adam Bentley Clausen: Legacy Impact Group & U.S. Sentencing Commission Advisory Group Member
By Jeff Grant
We are honored to host Adam Bentley Clausen of the Legacy Impact Group as our September 2026 White Collar Support Group Tuesday Night Speaker Series presenter.
The presentation, which is open to justice-impacted people, family, friends, professionals, clients, colleagues, and anyone interested, will take place via Zoom on September 29, 2026 at 7 PM ET (4 PM PT).
In 2001, at just 24 years old, Adam Bentley Clausen was sentenced to 213 years in federal prison with no possibility of parole, a punishment that meant he would die behind bars. Today, the same man who once carried that sentence helps advise the very institution that writes the nation's sentencing rules. His is one of the most remarkable transformation stories in American criminal justice.
Across more than two decades inside, Adam refused to let his circumstances define his character. He maintained a pristine disciplinary record for more than fifteen consecutive years, became a certified life coach, completed over 100 rehabilitation programs, and founded the first life-coaching program inside the federal Bureau of Prisons, training more than 100 incarcerated peer coaches and building the Core Four + Hope Coaching curriculum that now anchors his life's work.
On August 12, 2020, he was granted Compassionate Release under the First Step Act for his "extraordinary and compelling" record of rehabilitation.
In September 2025, Adam was appointed to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's Sentencing Impact Advisory Group (SIAG), a federal appointment through 2028, where he advises the Commission on revising the federal sentencing guidelines and ensures the perspectives of people directly affected by federal sentences shape its research and policy. It is a rare kind of authority: a man once defined by a 213-year number now has a seat at the table where those numbers are decided. That same lived authority drives the Legacy Impact ecosystem he co-founded, including the offline-first, voice-first Legacy Impact AI Coach, which brings daily coaching in faith, family, fitness, and finance into corrections environments nationwide.
Adam has testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission and House Judiciary staff, been profiled by the U.S. Department of Education, and partners with REFORM Alliance, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), and the Aleph Institute. He is now working with Federal Bureau of Prisons leadership on a special project to transform the culture of the federal prison system. Guided by faith and family alongside his wife, Rosanne "Ro" Clausen, Adam's journey stands as living proof of what he tells every audience: that it is possible to rise, to rebuild, and to create a legacy of hope, no matter where you start.
For the white collar justice community, Adam's perspective is directly relevant. His firsthand path through sentencing, incarceration, and compassionate release connects closely to our December 2025 Speaker Series with Doug Passon on sentencing and mitigation, and to our explainer on how First Step Act earned time credits work. Few speakers can describe both what it means to receive a federal sentence and what it means to help reform how those sentences are written.
This event is free, open to all, and will take place via Zoom.
Connect with Adam:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adambclausen
Instagram: @Adam213IsFree
Podcast: Gritability, stories of resilience and redemption, co-hosted with Ro Clausen
Email: [email protected]
