As an activist and organizer, Renaldo strives for transformative action rather than just transformative language. He is Director of Education for the Illinois Prison Project and founder of the Death Penalty Project. He has focused his work toward ending mass incarceration in Illinois, and now he is focused on ending the death penalty in this country and abroad. After being sentenced to death row, he woke up to his role in fighting for fair chances and bringing people around to accountability and responsibility from both sides of the coin. 

Renaldo is responsible for founding the groundbreaking Building Block program, a transformational program that is run by incarcerated people within the Illinois Department of Correction. Renaldo's work has been celebrated and is the focus of media outlets throughout Illinois and nationally, including as the subject of the documentaries Building Block and Stateville Calling. His work has also been featured in the documentary Bloodshed: Understanding Violence and Pursuing Peace and in a Sentencing Project report on life sentences without the possibility of parole. The Global Leadership Summit recently featured Renaldo's story and the Building Black Program to an audience of over 65,000 people."