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  • ‘A Poignant and
    Riveting Speaker’

Quintin L. Murray
Speaker. Facilitator. Consultant.

Listen to Quintin tell his story and you will understand why audiences are instantly captivated and deeply moved. Quintin – or Q as he is known – emerged from a difficult childhood and 15 years of incarceration to find forgiveness and healing and a deep desire to help others. Today he is a skilled facilitator, a masterful speaker, and a disciple of hope whose searing wisdom and easygoing style can help anyone find light even in their darkest hour. Learn more…

Who is Q?

As a young man, Quintin Murray took some wrong turns that sent him to prison. Today he has turned his life around as a highly-sought professional speaker, consultant, and trained facilitator dedicated to helping young people make better choices in life.
After a difficult home life led him to a dangerous life on the streets, Murray’s world was turned upside down when at 28 years old he was convicted on a first-degree robbery charge and sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was released three years early after successfully meeting vocational and good behavior requirements.
While incarcerated, Quintin (or ‘Q’ as he is known) was selected by his peers and the prison warden to serve as chair of the Inmate Liaison Committee (ILC). Quintin quickly earned the respect of entire prison population by creating a High Achiever’s Program (HAP) designed to teach life skills that would help prisoners upon their release.

“Mr. Murray… victoriously rose above all odds and transformed his misfortunes into opportunities, creating his new self-rewarding life.” — Thorin Daye

Murray insisted the program’s offerings be based on a needs survey of the entire prison population. HAP classes were so popular that there weren’t enough spaces to meet demand, which resulted in the creation of a waiting list. Owing to his obvious leadership abilities, Murray’s counsel was regularly sought by the prison’s warden.

While still incarcerated, Quintin applied and was accepted to New York University’s Bachelor Art program in Social Work. After his release he continued his studies and maintains a 4.0 GPA. He was elected by his peers and faculty to serve on NYU’s student council committee.

Murray received his Peer Counseling Certifications from Yale Law School’s Social Helpers Therapeutic Training Course. He earned a Certificate of Career Readiness from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, and a Peer Counseling Certifications in a HIV/AIDS/HEP C Peer Educational Counseling from Hudson Valley Community Services.

Murray also served as a senior facilitator for more than 100 graduates of Defy Ventures Inc., a rigorous entrepreneurial training program used nationally in prisons and jails. Defy Ventures addresses criminal thinking errors, such as a lack of interest and performance in personal growth and development. Defy has a recidivism rate of less than 5%. The national average is 53% in one year.

An aspiring writer and filmmaker, Murray was nominated as an editor for an NYU student magazine called Voices of The Incarcerated with Creative Expression (V.O.I.C.E.).

Murray is a regular guest speaker at universities and community group on topics ranging from Trauma, Mental Health, and Public Health to the challenges of Re-entry and his personal experiences of his life.

Murray is also a Gold Certificate facilitator for the Alternative to Violence Project (AVP). Gold Certified facilitators are nominated after a rigorous 70-hour training course by staff and peers to lead workshops. AVP addresses violence through community involvement on a wide range of topics including Self-Introspection, Family Reunification, Relationships, Morals and Values, Conflict Resolution, and Community and Crime Awareness.

“Murray is a poignant and riveting public speaker. The students raved about him.” — Dr. Carol Tosone

Speaking

Thank you for your interest in having Quintin Murray as a speaker for your upcoming event. We know how challenging it is today to find a presenter who can capture the imagination of a meeting or conference. Q, as he is known, does that and more. As he shares his compelling backstory and hard-earned insights, Q consistently disarms and inspires audiences with his heart, his humor, and his humanity. Quintin can present to audiences ranging from annual meetings with 10,000 attendees to one-hour motivational meetings in all 50 states and overseas.

Quintin has several Keynotes for you to consider for your next speaking engagement:

Speaking

Facilitation

As a trained facilitator, Quintin Murray may be just the guide you need for your next meeting or conference. By engaging participants in creating, discovering, learning, and applying insights, Quentin brings his gentle, direct approach and disarming sense of humor to even the most complex discussions. 

“The discipline, intelligence, and creativity Murray brought to our program was impressive as was his ability to motivate his peers.” — Thorin Daye

Raves

“Murray is a poignant and riveting public speaker, he spoke in my Master’s level Social Work class…and the students raved about him as a speaker.”

  • Dr. Carol Tosone, L.C.S.W., Editor-in-Chief, Clinical Social Work Journal (NYU)

“Murray serves as a consultant to my Black English class taught at NYU. He offers learners, practitioners, and policy makers a unique perspective on the prison education complex, the state of affairs of Black and Brown lives in the U.S. and solutions for systemic positive change for traditionally marginalized communities.”

  • Dr. Renee’ Blake, Professor of Linguistics and Social Cultural Analysis (NYU)

“I support Mr.Murray in his efforts to share with you how he victoriously rose above all odds and transformed his misfortunes into opportunities, creating his new self-rewarding life. The discipline, intelligence, and creativity Murray brought to our program was impressive as was his ability to motivate his peers. ”

— Thorin Daye, Executive Director of Network’s Re-Entry Prison Program

“Q and I met over a year ago and from the minute I met him I was blown away by his powerful words, gravitas, attention to detail, and ability to inspire. Q digs deep at every twist and turn in life and transforms life’s challenges into opportunities. He is the living embodiment of finding the silver lining to every grey cloud and is a masterful speaker that is able to articulate that light to bring people out of their darkest moments. –”

  • Tara DeWorsop, Thrive for Life Prison Project Director of Development & Communications

Raves

Quintin L. Murray

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I,Q

When the judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison for First Degree Robbery, she pointed toward the window and said, “Mr. Murray, you see that plant? It will be a tree by the time you are released.” It was a moment that fractured Q’s life in two. In this personal and poignant presentation, Q recounts his transformation from a near-suicidal search for a way out to the forgiveness and healing that eventually saved his life and set him on a path to helping others avoid the mistakes he made. As a result of this presentation, people will be able to:

  • Reflect on their own identity and narrative
  • Work and live in ways that align with their purpose
  • Understand the ways judgment can stand in the way of solutions

The Power of Choice

The decisions we make in life come with a chain of consequences that can make or break us. In this presentation Q traces his journey from trauma and drugs to gangs, robbery and incarceration. As a result of this presentation, people will be able to:

  • Reflect on behaviors or habits that are not serving them
  • Discover practices for understanding their environment and its consequences
  • Take action: Learn how to change your mindset and make better choices

Reimagining Reentry

Over 600,000 individuals are released from prison annually and three-quarters of them are rearrested within five years of their release. In this presentation, Quinton discusses the High Achiever’s Program he created while still in prison that was so successful there was a waiting list and the prison warden wanted to purchase it. For Q, re-entry must begin before an incarcerated individual is released and must prioritize mental health interventions life skills even before such needs as housing and employment. As a result of this presentation, people will be able to:

  • Understand the main factors that fuel recidivism
  • Uncover practices that can interrupt the tendency to reoffend
  • Discover how education is the gamechanger that keeps formerly incarcerated individuals from returning to prison