Robert Tyrone Lilly is a Texas Certified Mental Health Peer Support Specialist working in the
Mental Health Division of the Travis County Public Defender’s Office. Drawing on more than
twenty-one years of lived experience within the criminal legal system, Robert provides
compassionate, peer-based support to individuals navigating both mental health challenges and
legal barriers.
A dedicated advocate for justice, Robert serves with the Travis County Reentry Roundtable,
where he focuses on strengthening collaboration between government agencies and community
organizations to improve reentry outcomes and expand diversion opportunities.
Robert is a Class of 2024 Ambassador for the African American Leadership Institute (AALI) and
the first recipient of AALI’s Igniting the Flame Award. He graduated from Abilene Christian
University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts, Applied Studies, with a
concentration in Social Work.
While in Abilene, Robert founded a nonprofit organization for youth with incarcerated parents,
which inspired the documentary Da’Cipher 360°, chronicling his powerful journey from
incarceration to community leadership, recovery, and redemption. Today, he is rebuilding
Da’Cipher 360° as a nonprofit organization focused on developing the leadership of men directly
impacted by the criminal legal system, helping them reclaim power, purpose, and voice in their
communities.
Born and raised in Harlem, New York, Robert’s early life was marked by loss, instability, and
survival amid violence and poverty. After years of incarceration, addiction, and struggle, he
rebuilt his life through service, education, and storytelling. His words became his art—“a palette
of colors,” as he describes them—transforming pain into purpose and the penitentiary into his
penmanship.
Now an author and self-publisher, Robert recently co-authored his first book with Lauren Oertel,
titled Inside Out: A Texas Prisons Poetry Story, a powerful exploration of creativity, healing, and
resilience born from lived experience behind bars.
Today, while still on parole until 2049, Robert stands as a testame resilience and
self-determination. He is an active member of several community initiatives, including
Communities for Recovery, the Travis County Reentry Roundtable, and the Central Texas
African American Family Support Conference Planning Committee. Through his work, Robert
continues to uplift others reentering society, advocating for dignity, healing, and systemic
change.
A writer at heart, Robert seeks to expand his impact as an author, public speaker, and
leadership development coach—using his story to inspire others to believe in the power of
second chances and the beauty of transformation.
