About GOGI
Human Oppoutunites - The GOGI Way
Enjoy – and imagine the GOGI Life Tools helping those in your care.
What is GOGI?
How Can I GOGI?
GOGI offers formal specialized softbound workbook courses, certification courses, certification status for facilitators of GOGI meetings, and the GOGI Certified Community Coach status program. Check out our FREE and SHOP tabs for information on the GOGI materials so you can start your own learning, or offer learning of the GOGI Life Tools to others.
GOGI creates unique open-source and low-cost ways to help individuals learn and apply the GOGI Life Tools to their daily decisions. Offered in group study, solo study, digital learning, and peer support formats, learning the GOGI Life Tools can be as flexible as any situation requires.
GOGI Life Tools
There are twelve GOGI Life Tools. Each Tool has a practical application to let the user make the most positive decisions possible.
The GOGI Life Tools were developed, designed, explored, practiced, and then perfected over a period of ten years by tens of thousands of individuals in prisons/jails. The GOGI Life Tools represent the collaboration representing most human lifestyles, and widely diverse life experiences.
The GOGI Life Tools were developed consistent with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Positive Psychology modalities.
The GOGI TOOLS OF THE BODY empower you to take control of how you act and react to life’s inevitable challenges and opportunities using: BOSS OF MY BRAIN, BELLY BREATHING, FIVE SECOND LIGHTSWITCH.
- BOSS OF MY BRAIN
- BELLY BREATHING
- FIVE SECOND LIGHTSWITH
The GOGI TOOLS OF CHOICE put you in control of your thoughts, your words, and your actions with a simple filter you can use to create opportunities and avoid obstacles: POSITIVE THOUGHTS, POSITIVE WORDS, POSITIVE ACTIONS.
- POSITIVE THOUGHTS
- POSITIVE WORDS
- POSITIVE ACTIONS
The GOGI TOOLS OF MOVING FORWARD let you move beyond your past as you turn your challenges into your opportunities: CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY, LET GO, FOR-GIVE.
- CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY
- LET GO
- FOR-GIVE
The GOGI TOOLS OF CREATION permit you to design your life in a way that brings you lasting joy, contentment, meaning, and purpose: WHAT IF, REALITY CHECK, ULTIMATE FREEDOM.
- WHAT IF
- REALITY CHECK
- ULTIMATE FREEDOM
The GOGI Approach
GOGI's Mission
Empowering Change From the Inside Out
Getting Out by Going In empowers the individual with GOGI Life Tools for making positive decisions and creating a life of purpose and meaning through sustained behavioral and perspective changes.
GOGI's Vision
A Common Language for Peace and Harmony
All humans can unite in a desire for peace and harmony, and the GOGI Life Tools provide a common “language” for all humanity to use in reaching this reality.
GOGI's Values
Choosing a Better Way Forward
Positive culture begins with a vision for peace and harmony. No matter our past, we can choose a better perspective, take responsibility, and find empowerment through consistent positive choices. Every person has value, potential for good, and is worth investing in. By serving others, we discover true freedom within.
Volunteerism - The GOGI Way
Volunteerism is the Heart and Soul of GOGI
“The GOGI Life Tools are a gift from people once deeply harmed and harmful, who now use them to build inner freedom and help others do the same. They believe that if they’d had these tools earlier in life, prisons would be far less necessary."
GOGI Coach Taylor
GOGI Volunteer/Founder
GOGI Coach Taylor founded the nonprofit Getting Out by Going In (GOGI) in 2006 after volunteering in prisons and jails as a psychology student. With two master’s degrees in psychology, a PsyD, and ordination as an Interfaith Minister, she quickly recognized that the key to addressing mass incarceration, addiction, and lawlessness lies within the individual. Through her work, she saw that when people in prison are given simple tools for positive decision-making, they often choose the most constructive path. Many shared that had they learned these tools as children, they likely would not have ended up incarcerated.
The GOGI Life Tools were developed in collaboration with tens of thousands of incarcerated individuals over more than two decades of Coach Taylor’s volunteer service.
To hear GOGI Coach Taylor interview GOGI students and supporters, listen to the Prison Positive Podcast.
GOGI 2026 Community Coach Roster
GOGI 2026 Team of Volunteers
Getting Out by Going In (GOGI) is a non-profit that models the value of volunteerism. As such, there are no paid staff members at GOGI. Those who are paid, receive a small stipend for their contribution to advancing the global use of the GOGI Life Tools. Coach Taylor, a volunteer for GOGI since its inception, explains. “How can I encourage the student of the GOGI Life Tools to live a life of service if I am taking a paycheck? It didn’t make sense to me, and it did not seem honest in the way that GOGI has always been honest. This choice, to remain 100 percent volunteer staffed, was not an easy one. It certainly hampered our growth in many ways, but no one will ever be able to challenge the sincerity of the GOGI mission and vision.”
GOGI 2026 Team of Volunteers
Getting Out by Going In (GOGI) is a non-profit that models the value of volunteerism. As such, there are no paid staff members at GOGI. Those who are paid, receive a small stipend for their contribution to advancing the global use of the GOGI Life Tools. Coach Taylor, a volunteer for GOGI since its inception, explains. “How can I encourage the student of the GOGI Life Tools to live a life of service if I am taking a paycheck? It didn’t make sense to me, and it did not seem honest in the way that GOGI has always been honest. This choice, to remain 100 percent volunteer staffed, was not an easy one. It certainly hampered our growth in many ways, but no one will ever be able to challenge the sincerity of the GOGI mission and vision.”
Andrii Batyrenko
Volunteer - Student Database
Andrii volunteered to help GOGI create a database to track students, their locations, and their course completion. More than a decade later, Andrii continues to volunteer his expertise to GOGI.
Yana Batyrenko
Volunteer - Student Records
Yana’s unwavering commitment reflects the heart and soul of GOGI. Now living in Germany after relocating through Poland, she has resumed her work. Though she misses her home in Ukraine, Yana continues to find inner freedom through helping GOGI students discover their own.
Coach Lina Beresford
Volunteer - International Development
Certified GOGI Coach Lina began volunteering in 2025 after discovering GOGI through UK Ambassador Lisa Butcher. Originally from England, she completed intensive training in 2026 and now helps expand GOGI globally. Her favorite tool is WHAT IF, which inspires her mission to bring GOGI Life Tools to people across the UK and worldwide.
Lisa Butcher
Volunteer - UK Ambassador
Lisa gladly accepted the title of GOGI Ambassador to the UK and is actively working to introduce the GOGI Life Tools throughout the United Kingdom, inside and outside of prison.
GOGI Coach Carlson
Volunteer - Media & Digital Learning
As one of GOGI’s most dedicated volunteers, Coach Carlson consistently shows up to help advance GOGI’s media presence. Whether producing large-scale content, building creative teams, or developing transformational learning platforms, Coach Carlson unites strategic vision with social impact, using storytelling as a catalyst for personal and collective transformation.
Coach James Jaymes
Volunteer - Social Media Celebrity
GOGI Coach James has put 30+ years of incarceration at the forefront of his daily life as a free man. Reaching back into the prisons to offer internal freedom to the most challenging populations, Coach James makes a stand for the prisoners many people believe are beyond redemption. Coach James knows otherwise, and freely offers the GOGI Life Tools to those who need it most.
Tiffany James
Volunteer - Social Media & Facilitator
Volunteer Tiffany has solid mastery of the GOGI Life Tools and shares the GOGI story in world-class social media. Tiffany is an exceptional GOGI Meeting facilitator, mother of two girls, and beloved wife of Coach
James.
Catherine Kort
Volunteer - Strategic Planning
Since GOGI’s inception, Catherine has offered her expertise to guide GOGI’s evolution into the positive culture that exists across US prison and jail systems. Working directly with Founder Coach Taylor, Catherine contributes to GOGI’s ability to serve emerging needs within – and beyond – prison populations.
Regina Minjares
Volunteer - GOGI Mailroom
Madeline "Madz" O'Brien
Volunteer - Editing, Media and Production
Several years ago, Madz responded to GOGI’s search for a video editor with a passion for empowering people to GET OUT by GOING IN-ward. She took on the task of sharing the GOGI story wholeheartedly and continues to make us all look good in her final video edits. We can’t help but believe her daily use of the GOGI Life Tools has contributed to her steady climb upwards in her career.
Coach Gabe Singer
Volunteer - Educator, Trainer, Facilitator
GOGI Gabe supports GOGI’s expansion to serve students, educators, and the incarcerated. He combines his lived experience with his academic success and current career in higher education.
Yamel Villa
Volunteer - Spanish Education
Yana’s unwavering commitment to her GOGI students never wavered with the Russian attacks on Ukraine forced her relocation. Now living in Germany, Yana continues to make certain GOGI student records are updated with their course completions. Though she misses her homeland, Yana continues to find inner freedom, the GOGI Way.
Andrii Batyrenko
Volunteer
Student Database
Andrii volunteered to help GOGI create a database to track students, their locations, and their course completion. More than a decade later, Andrii continues to volunteer his expertise to GOGI.
Yana Batyrenko
Volunteer
Student Records
Yana’s unwavering commitment reflects the heart and soul of GOGI. Now living in Germany after relocating through Poland, she has resumed her work. Though she misses her home, Yana continues to find inner freedom through helping GOGI students discover their own.
Coach Lina Beresford
Volunteer
International Development
Certified GOGI Coach Lina began volunteering in 2025 after discovering GOGI through UK Ambassador Lisa Butcher. Originally from England, she completed intensive training in 2026 and now helps expand GOGI globally. Her favorite tool is WHAT IF, which inspires her mission to bring GOGI Life Tools to people across the UK and worldwide.
Lisa Butcher
Volunteer
UK Ambassador
Lisa gladly accepted the title of GOGI Ambassador to the UK and is actively working to introduce the GOGI Life Tools throughout the United Kingdom, inside and outside of prison.
GOGI Coach Carlson
Volunteer
Media & Digital Learning
As one of GOGI’s most dedicated volunteers, Coach Carlson consistently shows up to help advance GOGI’s media presence. Whether producing large-scale content, building creative teams, or developing transformational learning platforms, Coach Carlson unites strategic vision with social impact, using storytelling as a catalyst for personal and collective transformation.
Coach James Jaymes
Volunteer
Social Media Celebrity
GOGI Coach James has put 30+ years of incarceration at the forefront of his daily life as a free man. Reaching back into the prisons to offer internal freedom to the most challenging populations, Coach James makes a stand for the prisoners many people believe are beyond redemption. Coach James knows otherwise, and freely offers the GOGI Life Tools to those who need it most.
Tiffany Jaymes
Volunteer
Social Media & Facilitator
Volunteer Tiffany has solid mastery of the GOGI Life Tools and shares the GOGI story in world-class social media. Tiffany is an exceptional GOGI Meeting facilitator, mother of two girls, and beloved wife of Coach
James.
Catherine Kort
Volunteer
Strategic Planning
Since GOGI’s inception, Catherine has offered her expertise to guide GOGI’s evolution into the positive culture that exists across US prison and jail systems. Working directly with Founder Coach Taylor, Catherine contributes to GOGI’s ability to serve emerging needs within – and beyond – prison populations.
Regina Minjares
Volunteer
GOGI Mailroom
Madeline O'Brien
Volunteer
Editing, Media and Production
Several years ago, Madz responded to GOGI’s search for a video editor with a passion for empowering people to GET OUT by GOING IN-ward. She took on the task of sharing the GOGI story wholeheartedly and continues to make us all look good in her final video edits. We can’t help but believe her daily use of the GOGI Life Tools has contributed to her steady climb upwards in her career.
Coach Gabe Singer
Volunteer
Educator, Trainer, Facilitator
GOGI Gabe supports GOGI’s expansion to serve students, educators, and the incarcerated. He combines his lived experience with his academic success and current career in higher education.
Yamel Villa
Volunteer
Spanish Education
Yana’s unwavering commitment to her GOGI students never wavered with the Russian attacks on Ukraine forced her relocation. Now living in Germany, Yana continues to make certain GOGI student records are updated with their course completions. Though she misses her homeland, Yana continues to find inner freedom, the GOGI Way.
