Click titles below for more. (Some information is not yet finalized.)
Plenaries
- Commissions, Capacities, & Concerns: A Participatory Evaluation of Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program Think Tanks
- Pitzer College Inside-Out BA Program: The Cumulative Added Value of Inside-Out Curriculum and Pedagogy
- Social Impact Measurement for Inside-Out
- The Past, the Power, and the Ongoing Possibilities of Inside-Out
- The Inside-Out Training Institute: New Horizons
Panels – Inside-Out and the Arts
- Collaging Our Way Inside/Outside
- Heave! The Progress of A Play
- {Ink}arcerated: Art on the Inside, Art on the Outside in Arizona
- Inside/Outside: Film and Talk-Back
- Inside Voices: Art and Agency from the Inside Out
- Living In and Beyond Prison in the UK: The Prison Poetry Project
- Monologues of the Women in Blue: Many Women, One Voice
- Northwest Coast Indigenous Art
- Performing History / Autobiography in Progress
- Theater from the Inside-Out: Illuminating Mass Incarceration
Panels – Inside-Out in Jails
- Embracing the Churn: Teaching an Inside-Out Class in the County Jail
- Navigating Inside and Out: Communications, Expectations, and Transformations Between a Campus and County Jail
- The Challenges and Possibilities of Teaching Inside-Out in Jails
Panels – Inside-Out Pedagogy and Program Development
- Doing Math for Personal Growth and Social Change
- Embodying Your Curriculum: Trauma-Informed Pedagogy for Prison Education
- From the Registrar’s Office to the State Capitol: Creating Space for Higher Ed Inside
- Going Upside Down with Inside-Out: Using Zoom to Increase Carceral Programming
- Higher Ed / Prison Program Partnerships
- Police Training Inside-Out
- Teaching Inside-Out in Law Schools
- The Transformative Experience of Inside-Out
- Valuing Community: Relational Development to Support the Formation of a Credit-Bearing Inside-Out Program
Panels – International Inside-Out Programs
- Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective: Advocacy and Social Change through Collaboration (Australia)
- From Criminal Justice to Social Justice: An Irish Perspective on The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program
- Inside-Out from a Correctional Perspective (British Columbia)
Panels – Participation of Those Who Are Formerly Incarcerated
- Expanding who “Prison Education” Programs Serve: Challenges and Innovations Working with the Reentry Population
- Inside-Out Journeys: Exonerated Best Friends and What They Hope to Build
Panels – The Work of Inside-Out Think Tanks
- Abolish Prisons and Parole
- British Columbia Think Tank: Accomplishments and Challenges
- From Inside-Out Classes to Community Activism
- Inside-Out and the Potential for Prison Education to Transform Social Policy
- The Power of Three: Think Tanks in the West Virginia Federal Prison System
Poster Presentations
- CareConnect Warmline: Adapting a Virtual Urgent Care Model to Provide Low-Threshold Buprenorphine Transitional Care
- Class Magazines from Vancouver Island
- Inside and Outside Students Sharing Authenticity Through Creative Self- Expression
Plenaries
Commissions, Capacities, & Concerns: A Participatory Evaluation of Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program Think Tanks
Sarah Allred, Charles Boyd, and Paul Perry
Berry College (GA) and the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix (PA)
Tuesday, 1:30pm – 2:10pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
This presentation shares findings from a descriptive, mixed methods quantitative participatory program evaluation of Inside-Out Think Tanks. The work was pursued collaboratively through all phases and took place across six cities and five states. Members affiliated with 11 Inside-Out Think Tanks were asked questions about a range of topics concerning group processes, activities, experiences, and perceptions. This presentation addresses the background for the project, methodological approach, and summary data on participant member characteristics. Also included are Think Tank perspectives on their visions and sense of connection with The Inside-Out Center, concluding with program implications directly linked to study findings.
Pitzer College Inside-Out BA Program: The Cumulative Added Value of Inside-Out Curriculum and Pedagogy
Nigel Boyle (faculty director), Reggie Bullock (1st cohort graduate), Danny Camarena (2nd cohort graduate), Barbara Junisbai (faculty instructor/advisor), Yusef Pierce (1st cohort graduate)
Pitzer College, Claremont, CA
Tuesday, 4:00pm – 4:40pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
Pitzer College has pioneered a prison BA program based on the Inside-Out curriculum and pedagogy. Pitzer faculty began teaching “Inside-Out” courses in 2014 at the California Rehabilitation Center. Now, faculty from all five of the Claremont Colleges teach at CRC prison, with inside students receiving Pitzer credit. We have developed the densest Inside-Out curriculum in the country (over 100 classes so far, including 2,000 student enrollments, half inside students, half outside). In 2019, Pitzer launched a pilot BA program, matriculating an initial cohort of eight students, all of whom graduated with degrees in Organizational Studies by December 2021. This cohort have paroled and won five prestigious fellowships between them. The second cohort completed the degree by June 2023, and our third cohort are all on track to graduate by summer 2024. In spring 2023, Pitzer made the BA program permanent, with the support of the consortium of seven colleges/universities it now anchors, working with the education staff at CRC and with Norco College. In this panel presentation, faculty and graduates of the BA program will discuss the cumulative added value that the Inside-Out curriculum and pedagogy brings to paroled graduates.
Social Impact Measurement for Inside-Out
TL Hill and Vyas Sreenivas
Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Monday, 1:30pm – 2:10pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
This workshop will invite feedback on the results of a year-long action-research engagement with Inside-Out stakeholders to design a meaningful and useful impact measurement process. Inside-Out groups can use this process to tell the Inside-Out story, gather resources, and provide regular feedback useful to managing the program or making difficult decisions. Participants will have the opportunity to think about the uses, design, and governance of impact measurement for Inside-Out and other social change initiatives.
The Past, the Power, and the Ongoing Possibilities of Inside-Out
Lori Pompa
The Inside-Out Center, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Monday, 10:00am – 10:40am | Room 200C (Virtual)
Lori will provide a concise, but comprehensive, overview of the first 25+ years of The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program — and what we have learned along the way. The organic growth of this program is unique and has yielded initiatives that could never have been anticipated or even imagined. It is a testament to what can happen when people come together and share their energy and passion for something much bigger than themselves. We will see, over the next two days, through 40 presentations from Inside-Out programs initiated throughout the US and around the world, a living global mosaic of transformative possibilities.
The Inside-Out Training Institute: New Horizons
Joe Schwartz, Danny Camarena, Yusef Pierce, Kenny Butler, Miranda Gilleo, and Kyle Daniel-Bey
Panelists are from California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania
Tuesday, 10:00am – 10:40am | Room 200C (Virtual)
With the emergence of COVID, the Inside-Out Instructor Training Institute pivoted to the virtual platform. The shift opened the door for justice-impacted coaches, whose relationship with the system extends beyond prison to reentry, to bring a wider range of experience and insight into the narrative of change and social justice, initially with the university instructors taking part in the trainings. However, virtual meetings also created the opportunity for dialogue and collaboration with criminal justice professionals and practitioners outside of higher education. Police officers, district attorneys, and personnel from multiple government departments, through the Philadelphia Office of Criminal Justice, now participate in online workshops and discussions. Topics for this panel discussion may include contrasting training in the prison setting with the experience of training online, exploring program impacts for Inside-Out graduates returned to their communities, exploring how Inside-Out education paved the way for further education upon release, and future implications for broader community dialogue.
Panels – Inside-Out and the Arts
Collaging Our Way Inside/Outside
Ashley Pryor, The University of Toledo / Toledo Correctional Institution (TOCI)
Toledo, OH
Monday, 10:50am – 11:30am | Room 217B
This workshop is designed for educators who have an interest in infusing the visual arts and visual literacy standards into their course curricula but who are hesitant to do so because they do not have formal training in the fine arts. The focal point of this workshop will be using collage as a pedagogical tool to explore identity and difference. “Identity Collages” provide a wonderful vehicle for fostering inclusive, open-ended, and multifaceted discussions around an otherwise highly-charged, often polarizing topic. By offering students an opportunity to reflect on identity using scraps of paper and other found objects, educators can use some simple visual literacy and design standards to help facilitate important discussions of identity and difference in their classroom.
Heave! The Progress of A Play
JAM
Baltimore, MD
Tuesday, 11:40am – 12:05pm | Room 217B
JAM has explored the introduction of safe spaces to encourage the sharing of traumatic experiences, a process called “mythologizin’.” His work assesses the testimonials of residents from transitional housing in Baltimore, which inspired the original one-act play “HEAVE!” Developed through an Inside-Out course taught by Tavia La Follette of Towson University, this presentation will explore the carefully documented process of making the play, which is heavily influenced by a theatre workshop with formerly incarcerated people.
{Ink}arcerated: Art on the Inside, Art on the Outside in Arizona
Kevin Wright, Alexis Klemm, and Bruce Ward
Arizona State University, the Red Rock Correctional Facility, and the Arizona State Prison Complex, Perryville, AZ
Monday, 2:20pm – 3:00pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
Arizona State University’s (ASU) {Ink}arcerated art show displays art created by incarcerated men and women in a professional gallery, with all sales benefitting youth and family organizations. In this panel, we talk about the origins and impacts of {Ink}arcerated, with a special focus on how Inside-Out students have contributed to its success. Bruce is an Inside student alumni artist who now studies at ASU and co-curates the show, Alexis is an Outside student alumna who now co-facilitates Inside-Out as a graduate student and co-curates the show, and Kevin helped create {Ink}arcerated, the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program at ASU, and the Arizona Transformation Project learning communities. Each of us will briefly share about our experience with {Ink}arcerated. We conclude with a question and answer session to hopefully inspire others to create similar opportunities.
Inside/Outside: Film and Talk-Back
- Nandini Sikand, Lafayette College
- Bonnie Winfield, Journey Home
Tuesday, 2:20pm – 3:00pm | Room 217A
Through the lens of a county jail in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, this presentation will explore the experiences of women as they struggle with the challenges of sexual assault, substance use disorder, and motherhood as seen in the documentary film “Inside/Outside.” Audience members will learn about the unique struggles that incarcerated women and their families face, and how programs can help this population cope with the indignities of incarceration. This presentation will serve as an introduction to the themes explored in the film, which attendees are invited to watch in full at their own leisure.
Inside Voices: Art and Agency from the Inside Out
Paul Draus, Kyle Daniel-Bey, Tamir Bell, Penny Kane, Tore Price, Yusef Qualls, and James Fuson
University of Michigan-Dearborn, MI
Tuesday, 10:50am – 11:30am | Room 217A
The workshop series “Art and Agency from the Inside Out” grew out of The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program and the Theory Group at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. “Art and Agency” is an outgrowth of the Inside-Out program that was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic because instructors were not allowed to enter prisons to conduct their classes. Two annual exhibitions, entitled “Inside Voices” and “Inside Voices 2,” have so far been organized, using written and visual work produced by incarcerated and community-based participants. This presentation will describe the history and evolution of the Michigan Theory Group (TG) and will showcase written work, poetry and prose, as well as visual art produced over TG's 16-year history.
Living In and Beyond Prison in the UK: The Prison Poetry Project
Kate O’Brien, Dalton Harrison, Kath Pengilley, Phoenix Griffin
Durham University, UK
Tuesday, 2:20pm – 2:45pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
The session will be live, via Zoom, and feature spoken word and poetry from formerly incarcerated men and women who have completed the Inside-Out programme with Durham University in the UK. One of the contributors, Dalton Harrison, will read poems from his recently published book of poetry, The Boy Behind the Wall.
Monologues of the Women in Blue: Many Women, One Voice
Penny Kane
The University of Michigan–Dearborn, Woman’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, MI
Tuesday, 12:05pm – 12:30pm | Room 217B
This project is based on a final presentation called "Monologues of the Women in Blue: Many Women, One Voice" from a Gender and Media Studies course. In this final, twenty women filled out a form answering questions about women’s issues in prison. Based on the format used in Eve Ensler’s play "The Vagina Monologues," the presenter merged the women’s experiences and wrote and performed three monologues. Excited by what had been created, the presenter went on to write a full-scale project based on the stories of over twenty-five incarcerated women. This presentation will include an introduction and background to the research process, as well as a screening of portions of the video that the project produced.
Northwest Coast Indigenous Art (tentative)
Trevor Fraser
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Tuesday, 2:45pm– 3:00pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
This presentation includes a spoken word video clip that represents how Inside-Out has impacted the speaker, and its greater potential to change the world. Also featured will be artistic submissions, featuring an acrylic on canvas painting in the style of the Snuneymuxw First Nation people.
Performing History / Autobiography in Progress
Susan Stein, Roger Guenveur Smith, Norman Conti, and the Social Living Collective
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Tuesday, 3:10pm – 3:50pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
This presentation offers a descriptive case study of an ongoing attempt at performative autoethnography through Roger Guenveur Smith’s Phi Beta Kappa course, Performing History/Autobiography in Progress. The course iteration in question has been blended with Susan Stein's writing workshop and facilitated online via Zoom as a variation of The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. The course is building upon a program where police officers and recruits enter a carceral setting to study as peers with incarcerated citizens in a three-credit seminar on criminal justice policy. While that course has a strong focus on public safety and restorative justice, the curriculum holds the secondary benefit of providing an opportunity for participants to see the humanity in people they had previously only recognized as adversaries. Our hope is that this arts-based experiential learning will push all of us to authentically incorporate the voice of the other into our self-narratives and see each other, as well as ourselves, as people with vested interests in our shared communities and nation.
Theater from the Inside-Out: Illuminating Mass Incarceration
Reiko Hillyer
Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR
Monday, 2:20pm – 3:00pm | Room 217A
This presentation will share the final project done by an Inside-Out class studying the history of incarceration. With the help of a theater colleague and a formerly incarcerated playwright, the class developed a performance in response to the prompt, “What do you want the world to know about your experience in this class?” The piece weaves together historical vignettes with personal narrative and, thanks to a grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, has been adapted into a piece for the stage featuring professional actors.
Panels – Inside-Out in Jails
Embracing the Churn: Teaching an Inside-Out Class in the County Jail
Tara Gilligan
Lafayette College, Northampton County Prison, Easton, PA
Monday, 12:05pm – 12:30pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
The Inside-Out model has worked particularly well in state and federal prisons, where long sentences and a stable population ensure that semester-long classes are sustainable, but how does one transfer this model to a jail or other detention center? Not knowing which students to expect each week makes it difficult to assign readings or to require Inside students to write weekly reflections. Yet, teaching in a community jail has its own unique rewards: interacting with dozens of residents in the span of a few months, seeing the direct impact of the program as participants recruit friends to join class, and serving people from all different backgrounds. This talk will consider some of the strategies one can employ when teaching in a jail, from pedagogy to student retention.
Navigating Inside and Out: Communications, Expectations, and Transformations Between a Campus and County Jail
- Melanie Trexler, Associate Professor of Religion, Roanoke College
- Daisy Ball, Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program, Director of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, Roanoke College
- Sheriff Joseph Orange, Roanoke County
- Sergeant Brian Flannagan, Roanoke County
Monday, 11:40am – 12:05pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
This presentation will discuss how Roanoke College and Roanoke County cultivated a relationship of mutual respect, collaboration, and cooperation over the last six years of the Inside-Out Program. Melanie Trexler and Daisy Ball will join Roanoke County Administrators Sheriff Joseph Orange and liaison Sergeant Brian Flannagan to discuss communication strategies that have improved their institutional relationship, how expectations of the program have grown, and the transformations that have been experienced over its six-year history. Also covered are strategies and tips that others may want to integrate into their programs to build stronger relationships Inside and Out between institutions.
The Challenges and Possibilities of Teaching Inside-Out in Jails
- Sarah Shannon, University of Georgia, Clarke County Jail (moderator), GA
- Stephen Simms, Bridgewater State University, Plymouth County Correctional Facility, MA
- Schannae Lucas, California Lutheran University, Todd Road Jail, CA
- Tammi Arford, University of Mass. Amherst, Bristol County House of Correction, MA
- Jennifer Lanterman, University of Nevada-Reno, Washoe County Detention Facility, NV
Tuesday, 10:50am – 11:15am | Room 200C (Virtual)
This session will feature several Inside-Out instructors who have taught in jail settings before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a moderated discussion, panelists will share their challenges and successes in designing, implementing, and growing Inside-Out courses in local jails. Specific topics will include addressing retention issues for Inside students, developing course credit options for Inside students, lessons learned from COVID remote teaching in jail settings, and how teaching in jails compares with teaching in prisons. This panel will be of interest to those who have not considered jail teaching as well as those with experience teaching Inside-Out courses in jail.
Panels – Inside-Out Pedagogy and Program Development
Doing Math for Personal Growth and Social Change
Mindy Kalchman
DePaul University
Monday, 12:05pm – 12:30pm | Room 217A
In this session, I will share the ways our Inside-Out class explores specific mathematics problems for personal growth and social change. I highlight how we draw from our individual identities to make meaning from rich tasks that require basic skills with mathematics. We work in small and large groups to discuss and compare individual approaches to, and strategies for, doing mathematics. These discussions facilitate meaningful dialogue that uncovers common experiences, struggles, fears, and strengths when doing and reflecting on our school-based mathematics education — engendering generalizable life lessons at the same time.
Embodying Your Curriculum: Trauma-Informed Pedagogy for Prison Education
Anita Chari and Angelica Singh
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Tuesday, 11:40am – 12:30pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
This workshop draws from the presenters’ extensive curriculum teaching embodied and trauma-informed practices, specifically for prison educators. By focusing on skills of grounding, orienting, boundaries, contact, and recognition, the presentation will support audience members in incorporating trauma-informed teaching in their classrooms and personal practice. This workshop will address trauma and overwhelm within the specific context of prisons, providing practices that can be used immediately for the benefit of students and instructors alike.
From the Registrar’s Office to the State Capitol: Creating Space for Higher Ed Inside
Shaul Cohen
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Tuesday, 3:10pm – 3:50pm | Room 217A
This presentation will explore the many paths that constitute both challenges and opportunities for Inside-Out instructors on campus, in the prisons, and beyond. Examples of degree attainment, supplemental programming, and strategic networking from the University of Oregon’s Prison Education/Inside-Out Program will be described. Participants in this session are encouraged to share ideas to cultivate mutual support in our community and to foster an exchange about effective methods for nurturing/protecting our work.
Going Upside Down with Inside-Out: Using Zoom to Increase Carceral Programming
Kimberly Collica-Cox
Pace University and the West Chester County Department of Correction, New York, NY
Tuesday, 11:15am – 11:30am | Room 200C (Virtual)
The transient populations typical of county jails pose unique challenges for program implementation, issues which have been exacerbated in the past few years due to the spread of COVID-19. Based on data collected from pre and posttest interviews, this presentation examines the difficulties of providing Inside-Out instruction during a shutdown. Although Inside and Outside students could not be in the same physical classrooms, Kimberly Collica-Cox's research speaks to the power of technological innovation to maintain the integrity of correctional-based programming, even post COVID-19.
Higher Ed / Prison Program Partnerships
- Ann Schwartzman, The Inside-Out Center at Temple University
- Kate Meloney, Villanova University
- Representative of Petey Greene
Tuesday, 2:40pm – 3:00pm | Room 217B
A number of universities and colleges, as well as initiatives like Inside-Out, are growing a statewide consortium that advances higher educational opportunities in corrections across Pennsylvania. The PA Consortium of Higher Education in Prison (PA CHEP) promotes college courses for people in prisons and people released from prison. Other states and regions have developed similar partnerships. This panel provides a time to explore some of the successes, challenges, and future possibilities of such collaborations.
Police Training Inside-Out
Norman Conti and the Elsinore Bennu Think Tank
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Monday, 11:40am – 12:30pm | Room 217B
This project discusses the development and implementation of a three-credit graduate/undergraduate course, offered to police officers and incarcerated men, that would eventually become part of the City of Pittsburgh’s recruit training academy. The initial class consisted of six veteran officers and six men serving life sentences. The program has the potential to integrate the fundamentals of restorative justice within the occupational culture of policing in order to produce direct benefits for public safety and may also be effective for building more authentic relationships between police and communities of color. The presentation will explain what went into creating this class, how it progressed, and what has resulted since its inception.
Teaching Inside-Out in Law Schools
Romie Griesmer, Nan Feyler, and Denita Latta
Delaware Law School (Widener University), DE
The Inside-Out Center at Temple University, PA
Monday, 11:40am – 12:05pm | Room 217A
Inside-Out classes in law schools promise a transformative impact on a generation of future lawyers, who will be better equipped to think critically about the social impacts of their legal work. Learning alongside Inside students, law students will better understand the importance of equity and fairness, clear communication, and practicing empathy. Inside students will become more aware of the complexities of the legal system that is, for most, confusing, alienating, and opaque. Teaching in law schools is particularly important for future prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges, who can potentially play a transformative role in the criminal legal system. This panel will describe the effort to expand the Inside-Out methodology to law schools throughout the United States.
The Transformative Experience of Inside-Out
Xavier Perez, Christina Rivers, and Mindy Kalchman
DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Monday, 3:10pm – 3:50pm | Room 217B
This panel explores the pedagogy of prison education by showcasing the transformative experiences of those who participate in The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Panelists will share their lived experiences as instructors, students, and administrators. The presentation examines the nuances of prison education efforts in county jail compared with state prison. Discussion will highlight the potential for prison education efforts to humanize the legal process, challenge the retributive nature of punishment, and provide framework for improving conditions inside prisons.
Valuing Community: Relational Development to Support the Formation of a Credit-Bearing Inside-Out Program
Kate Richmond, Jess Denke, Grace Leard, Keshawn McDowdell, Kristi Belotto – all from Muhlenberg College
Laura Kuykendall and Sara Jarosz – from the Department of Corrections
Muhlenberg College and Lehigh County Prison, Allentown, PA
Tuesday, 3:10pm – 3:50pm | Room 217B
This presentation details the six-year development of an Inside-Out program in the Lehigh County Department of Corrections. Highlighting their relationship development and trust building, essential for creating community connections, the presenters will discuss the details of a federal grant their work has received. Audience members will be prompted to consider their own local context, hopefully inspired by the detailed path provided for developing an Inside-Out community that sustains the work of higher education in prison, reentry, and community education.
Panels – International Inside-Out Programs
Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective: Advocacy and Social Change through Collaboration (Australia)
- Marietta Martinovic, RMIT University and Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective
- Kate Kennedy, RMIT University and Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective
- Pattie Phillips, University of New England and Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective
- Coral Dyason, Charles Sturt University and Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective
Monday, 10:50am – 11:30am | Room 217A
In 2020, Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective was established with the support of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Melbourne, Australia. It consists of people with lived experience of the criminal justice system, researchers, academics, and practitioners. Collectively, it works with various organizations, governmental bodies, and the non-profit sector to provide nuanced perspectives on complex issues which affect people in the Criminal Justice System. This panel discusses the process of how Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective innovates the social justice space, and the individualistic benefits and challenges involved in doing this lived experience work.
From Criminal Justice to Social Justice: An Irish Perspective on The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program
Katharina Swirak, Kathleen White, and Gillian McNaull
- Cork Prison, Cork, Republic of Ireland
- University College Cork, Republic of Ireland
- Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre and Women's Prison, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland
Tuesday, 2:20pm – 2:40pm | Room 217B
This presentation will provide the opportunity to view The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program through an Irish lens by exploring the design and delivery of the first Inside- Out class in Ireland. In 2019, University College Cork’s Department of Criminology and Sociology set up the first program on the Island of Ireland in partnership with Cork Prison. The course, “Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme: From Criminal Justice to Social Justice,” explores contemporary issues in Criminology, in both an Irish and international context, and has been running every semester since Spring 2020. This presentation will frame Inside-Out in the Irish context, give insight into the motivations of setting up the class, an overview of key elements of the curriculum, and speak to the future of Inside-Out at UCC.
Inside-Out from a Correctional Perspective (British Columbia, Canada)
Teri DuTemple, Joanne Falvai, and Lauren Mayes
Vancouver Island University and Nanaimo Correctional Centre, British Columbia
Monday, 3:10pm – 3:35pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
There is a lot of discussion about the impact of Inside-Out on students, but how has it impacted correctional staff and the correctional facilities in which classes are held? This panel will focus on the correctional staff perspectives of getting an Inside-Out class started; how it has impacted staff, the facility, and residents of correctional centres; and the benefits and challenges associated with hosting Inside-Out classes. Join staff from the Nanaimo Correctional Centre and Inside-Out instructors for a conversation about Inside-Out from a correctional perspective.
Panels – Participation of Those Who Are Formerly Incarcerated
Expanding who “Prison Education” Programs Serve: Challenges and Innovations Working with the Reentry Population
Theresa Tobin and Alex Gambacorta
Education Preparedness Program (EPP), Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Tuesday, 11:40am – 12:05pm | Room 217A
The Education Preparedness Program (EPP) at Marquette University provides educational opportunities for all legal system-impacted people, including returning citizens. Our program has experienced unique challenges when serving formerly incarcerated students. Many of these obstacles, such as housing and food insecurity, are not present when teaching inside a prison. Our goal in this presentation is to facilitate a conversation about how other programs that serve formerly incarcerated students address these complications. Our hope is to identify some "best practices" that can inform programs that engage this specific population. We can also discuss some programmatic innovations we’ve developed to address some of these challenges on our own.
Inside-Out Journeys: Exonerated Best Friends and What They Hope to Build
John In, Steve Lazar, and Cory Holding
University of Pittsburgh, PA
Tuesday, 10:50am – 11:30am | Room 217B
This presentation tells the story of two former Inside-Out students’ journeys: from their experience in the Inside-Out program to their exonerations through the Innocence Project, to the programs and resources they hope to build to support people getting out of prison. John and Steven were both convicted of crimes they did not commit and were sent to a maximum-security prison where they formed an unbreakable bond. Through participation in the Inside-Out program via the University of Pittsburgh, they were able to realize their ability to perform at an above-average level in academia. Now home, this presentation will allow John and Steven to share their accomplishments and goals for the future, and to make the case that college-level education is the most impactful and effective form of rehabilitation.
Panels – The Work of Inside-Out Think Tanks
Abolish Prisons and Parole
Angela Bryant, Laura Heller, Michael Patterson, Anthony Simmons, and Lorenzo Vasquez
The Ohio State University, OH
Monday, 2:20pm – 3:00pm | Room 217B
The Pantheon of Critical Criminologists, a Street Participatory Action Research team, was formed at a men’s prison in January of 2018. They’ve spent five years focusing Inside-Out group projects on barriers impacting low rates of release decisions by the parole board. In this presentation, they will discuss the experiences of incarcerated people stuck in “purgatory” as they are denied access to the parole board, their experiences developing the project, and how the very prison system that recommended the study also created barriers to its success. It is time to abolish prisons and parole and address the root causes of crime and inequality in the US.
British Columbia Think Tank: Accomplishments and Challenges
Lauren Mayes, Think Tank Members from Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Vancouver Island University and Nanaimo Correctional Centre, British Columbia
Monday, 3:35pm – 3:50pm | Room 200C (Virtual)
The British Columbia Think Tank was founded by alumni of Inside-Out courses at Vancouver Island University. The Think Tank was initially founded in 2021 and currently meets weekly at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre and bi-monthly on Vancouver Island University’s campus, as well. This panel will discuss how the Think Tank was started, its goals, what has been accomplished so far, and the challenges faced. Accomplishments will be focused on how a peer support certificate course was initiated within the correction centre, along with the creation of a website featuring re-entry support resources. This panel may be of interest to those thinking about starting a Think Tank or eager to learn about other Think Tanks.
From Inside-Out Classes to Community Activism
Kate King (retired) and Audrey Anton
Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY
Raymond Stewart and John Brown
Former Inside Students, DeBerry Special Needs Facility, Nashville, TN
Founding Members of DeBerry Think Tank, Founding Members of We Stay Free, Inc.
Sue Hyatt, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
Monday, 3:10pm – 3:50pm | Room 217A
This panel will discuss two examples of how Inside-Out classes have led to larger campaigns for social justice. The first example took place inside a men's maximum-security facility where Inside-Out classes led to the creation of a Think Tank, which ultimately inspired the formation of a non-profit organization entitled We Stay Free, Inc. We Stay Free provides assistance to recently incarcerated individuals and coordinates community information sessions and events with local police, business owners, judges, and community leaders. These events give formerly incarcerated individuals access to the larger community and educate the public about the ongoing issues facing those coming out of prison. The second example grew out of Inside-Out classes that were held in re-entry facilities and led to a campaign to facilitate better access to higher education for people with justice involvement.
Inside-Out and the Potential for Prison Education to Transform Social Policy
Joseph Dole, Raul Dorado, Lynn Green, Decedrick Walker, Christian Noel, Carl Smith, Charles Hill, Michael Sullivan
All Inside Students at Stateville Correctional Center, Crest Hill, IL
Xavier Perez, Moderator
DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Monday, 10:50am – 11:30am | Room 200C (Virtual)
This panel highlights the potential for programs like The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program to shape social policy. Employing a qualitative method of auto-ethnography, the panel explores the collaborative efforts of Inside and Outside voices to propose innovative approaches to punishment and improve the social conditions for justice-involved populations. Through active participation in Inside-Out Think Tanks, advocates challenge stereotypical perceptions of the incarcerated as “other.” Collaborative efforts between Inside and Outside voices not only elevate the academic rigor of prison education but underscore the capacity for prison education to serve as a tool for change.
The Power of Three: Think Tanks in the West Virginia Federal Prison System
Jeri Kirby
Fairmont State University and the Federal Prison Complex in Hazelton, WV
Tuesday, 12:05pm – 12:30pm | Room 217A
After my release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, I walked around with my head down feeling lucky to be free. It took me 10 years to find my community, which gave me support and an authentic place to begin to develop true freedom. Once I found the Inside-Out community and was privileged enough to pursue my education, I began my journey of teaching Inside-Out and the development of the Hazelton Think Tanks. This presentation will discuss how the Inside-Out community gave me the courage to teach, the courage to walk back into the Federal system, and the opportunity to work with others to develop the three Think Tanks on one hill and the powerful things we developed.
Poster Presentations
CareConnect Warmline: Adapting a Virtual Urgent Care Model to Provide Low-Threshold Buprenorphine Transitional Care
Nicole Ellis, Gilly Gehri, Jasmine Barnes, Nicole O’Donnell
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
The CareConnect Warmline was created in January 2022 to prevent lapses in care for patients released as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Partnering with Penn Medicine On- Demand, CareConnect worked to train providers to prescribe buprenorphine, an evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder. This poster session will include a retrospective chart review of CareConnect patients seen since the program’s inception, offering important information about how to improve access to effective treatment. This is especially critical for individuals recently incarcerated, helping to prevent recidivism, return to use, and overdoses.
Class Magazines from Vancouver Island
Lauren Mayes and Joanne Falvai
Vancouver Island University and Nanaimo Correctional Centre, British Columbia, CA
Two Inside-Out classes at Vancouver Island University created magazines as a final project. Please check out the collection of essays, poetry, resources, and art that students compiled.
Inside and Outside Students Sharing Authenticity Through Creative Self- Expression
Brenda Kucirka and Doris Vallone
Widener University and the State Correctional Institution at Chester
Chester, PA
In an Inside-Out nursing course titled “Social Justice and Advocacy,” students engaged in conversations exploring privilege, oppression, stigma, and Harro’s Cycle of Socialization and Liberation. The semester culminated in creative self-expression projects exploring the meaning of social justice and finding one’s voice. Projects included spoken word, poetry, rap, storytelling, dance, paintings, etc. This poster presentation will focus on both Inside and Outside artwork depicting their personal journeys.
