She is the youngest of four brothers and one sister. She grew up as the youngest on the block in her tight-knit community in Newark, New Jersey. She is fiercely empathetic with a big heart. While incarcerated she received her GED and ran a support group for women who were survivors of domestic violence. Since her release, she has enrolled at Essex County Community College, studying for Associates degree in Liberal Arts. She has been touring nationally with the film and spoke at the Creating Change Conference in Denver in February 2015. Most recently, Patreese was asked to speak at the Sadie Nash Leadership Project in Newark, NJ. Patreese dreams of opening a spa one day “so that women will have a place to take a break from the every- day struggles of life.” She is currently working two part-time jobs, one as a personal assistant to children’s author, Jacqueline Woodson.