Cedar Tree, Inc. evolved out of Jimmy Santiago Baca's 30 plus years teaching literacy and writing workshops in prisons and schools for at-risk youth. Baca's teaching success stemmed partially from his ability to identify with the experiences of workshop participants, having spent over five years in prison himself, where he taught himself to read and write.

At the urging of numerous teachers, counselors and prison administrators, Baca developed an educational process that led to the creation of the non-profit Cedar Tree, Inc. in 2004. Along with providing writing workshops, Cedar Tree, Inc. employs ex-offenders as interns to assist with the production of documentaries and development of curriculum for disadvantaged populations.

Recently, Cedar Tree, Inc. has produced two documentary films. "Clamor en Chino" follows a series of writing workshops conducted at the California State Youth Authority Prison in Chino. "Moving the River Back Home" chronicles writing workshops held at an underperforming inner-city high school in Utah.