Our History

Founders Story

In 2015, Anna Debenham went to prison. Her route to the Big House had nothing to do with crime. In a lifelong search for lasting peace of mind, Anna came across a groundbreaking approach to life and work that had her excited to learn more. While working as a business coach in London, Anna went back to school for a 10-month program at the One Thought Institute in London.

While at One Thought, Anna began volunteering with Beyond Recovery, an organization that had received a government grant to research the impact of sharing the 3 Principles with the prison population. Anna joined Beyond Recovery as a volunteer assistant, teaching this understanding in prison in the UK. For the first time, she saw how this approach could change the lives of others. After one year with Beyond Recovery, Anna and her husband moved back to Portland where she remained determined to maintain a focus on serving the prison population. In September 2016, she began working in prison in Oregon at the Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI). Her programs were well received by the staff and participants alike, and grew exponentially as more and more people were positively impacted and would spread the word.

Anna knew she needed to make this work official and focus all her time and energy on what she loved – working with the incarcerated population. After a successful meeting at Coffee Creek women’s prison, Susan Stoltenberg – Executive Director of the YWCA - offered to be the organization’s fiscal sponsor. From there, The Insight Alliance was born, growing its footprint in multiple facilities in Oregon. In 2019, the organization became its own 501c3 nonprofit organization.