SPEAKUP SPEAKUP STANDUP STANDUP RISEUP RISEUP
Education in Action: From Incarceration to Inspiration
SEPTEMBER 9-11,2024
WELCOME MESSAGE
02
KEYNOTE PANELS
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
03 06
SUBJECT TRACK DESCRIPTIONS
13
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
14
WELCOME
Message from our Steering Committee
Welcome to the 2024 Rise Up Conference! We are thrilled to have you join us for the next few days dedicated to inspiring change and fostering collaboration. This event brings together passionate individuals, community leaders, and industry experts to discuss strategies for building stronger, more resilient communities.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our sponsors and partners for their generous support.
Stand Up, Speak up & Rise Up!
Sincerely,
Rise Up Steering Committee
Rise Up Conference 2024 Access
KEYNOTEPANELS
Empowering
Narratives: The Power of Media and Allyship in Sharing Lived Experiences
Lawrence Bartley
Lawrence Bartley is the publisher of The Marshall Project Inside, the organization’s publications intended specifically for incarcerated audiences He is also the host and executive producer of Inside Story, a new video series delivering trustworthy reporting to incarcerated people and the broader public He has served as founder and director of News Inside, the print publication of The Marshall Project, which is distributed in hundreds of prisons and jails throughout the United States
Chavon Carroll
Chavon Carroll is The Marshall Project’s Deputy Director of Development for Local Fundraising, leading fundraising initiatives to support the expansion of criminal justice reporting at the local level She has more than 15 years of fundraising experience with major nonprofit organizations, including Heart of America and Teach for America She is based in North Carolina
Martin Garcia
Martin Garcia is the Manager of News Inside, the print publication of The Marshall Project and the Associate of Inside Story, The Marshall Project’s new video series, both of which are distributed in hundreds of prisons and jails throughout the United States Martin is also one of the co-chairs of The Marshall Project’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee He is a Mercy College graduate and well versed in Department of Corrections policy Previously, Martin was a community coordinator for Worth Rises, part of The Osborne Association as a Children’s Center Caregiver, and an Advisor to its NY Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents
KEYNOTEPANELS
Statewide Coalition Building from the Perspective of Shared Leadership
Patrick Rodriguez
Patrick Rodriguez is the Co-Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison and Co-Directs the National Executive Council at Columbia University's Center for Justice Leading with his lived experience of incarceration, Patrick builds high-quality educational pathways to degree completion for incarcerated people in the state of Georgia and beyond He has expanded in-prison degree programs, and created powerful reentry initiatives He is committed to advancing policies and programs that support justice-involved people in achieving academic excellence and successful societal reintegration
Thomas Fabisiak
Pamela Winn
Thomas Fabisiak is Assistant Dean of Social Sciences at Life University and Co-Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (GACHEP) He joined Life University in 2015 to launch the Chillon Project, the first accredited college degree program to be offered by a Georgia school inside a prison since 1994 While serving as Director of Chillon, Dr Fabisiak collaborated with friends and colleagues in Georgia and across the country to found GACHEP, a statewide partnership to expand higher education for system-impacted people His current research focuses on moral injury and moral disengagement in the prison system
RecognizedbyForbes,PamelaWinnserveda78month federal sentence for a white-collar crime while pregnant She was shackled causing her to fall miscarrying her baby, then placed in solitary confinementThis traumatic experience fuels her passion and purpose The 2023 recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award is Founder of RestoreHER USAmerica A national leader informing policy change in more than 23 statesthroughoutthecountrythatincludesending prisonbirth,shacklingandsolitaryconfinementof incarceratedpregnantwomen Pamelaisfeatured inawardwinningshort-filmdocumentaries WINN MovieandTHEBOX
Sinead Younge
Sinead Younge is the David Packard Endowed Chair in Science and Professor of Psychology and director of the Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis in the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College Dr Younge conducts research examining the social determinants of health Dr Younge has volunteered with Common Good Atlanta and served as guest lecturer in Phillips State Prison, Whitworth Detention Center and Metro Detention Center She works with the Morehouse College Higher Education in Prison Program and is a founding board member of the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison
Molly Lasagna
Molly is a Senior Program Officer at Ascendium in the Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison focus area Prior, Molly led a nonprofit organization that brings college programs to prisons in Tennessee and was at the front of efforts to build the Southern Higher Ed in Prison Collective and led the creation and growth of a statewide network of colleges and state agencies called the Tennessee Prison College Coalition She holds an M Div from Vanderbilt University, an MA in urban education policy from Brown University, an MAT in English education from the University of Virginia and a BA in English literature from Columbia University
KEYNOTEPANELS
Using Law & Media in Fighting Wrongful Convictions
Dan Slepian
Dan Slepian is an award-winning journalist at NBC News and a veteran producer of its signature newsmagazine, Dateline Slepian has spearheaded dozens of documentaries and hidden-camera investigations, and is known for his in-depth reporting about the criminal legal system and, specifically, wrongful convictions He has received three Edward R Murrow Awards, more than a dozen Emmys, and has been recognized by multiple justice organizations across the country Slepian was the host of Letters from Sing Sing, a podcast that was #1 on Apple's true crime charts and a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting
Jon-Adrian Velasquez
These simple, yet profound words summarize Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez’s life and professional philosophy of demanding nothing short of true justice With more than 23 years of lived experience, incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, Mr Velazquez has worked tirelessly to redefine the humanity of men who are or have beenincarcerated Mr Velazquezhasseizedevery opportunitytolearn,lead,support,andgive,which earnedhimanearlyreleasein2021viaexecutive clemency and a trip to the White House to discusscriminallegalreformwithPresidentBiden, receivingapublicapologyon“behalfofsociety”
Greg Mingo
Steve Zeidman
Greg Mingo is a clemency grantee who spent over 40 years in prison for a wrongful conviction and released in 2021 He is a Senior Advisor for the Second Look Project NY at CUNY law school Additionally he works with Hudson-Link for Higher Education in Prison He is an ambassador for the innocent project, and a community leader for Releasing Aging People in Prison (RAPP) He co-founded the Clemency Collective advocating for increased clemency grants, is a consultant for Bennington College and has been honored every year for his advocacy for social, racial, and criminal justice reform
Professor Steven Zeidman is the Co-Director of the Second Look Project: Beyond Guilt at CUNY Law School He is a member of the Appellate Division’s Indigent Defense Organization Oversight Committee and the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Council, and serves on the Board of Directors of Prisoners' Legal Services and the Parole Preparation Project He has published numerous op-eds and articles and presented on a range of issues, including mass incarceration and the effective assistance of counsel
C O N F E R E N C E S C H E D U L E
On behalf of the Steering Committee, we hope you are as excited as we are to #RiseUpHEP! Below you will find information on our opening night screening!
Pre-Meeting - Movie Night: Monday, September 9, 2024
Virtual Lobby opens at 6:40 p.m. EST/Screening starts at 7:00 p.m. EST When Does Freedom Begin | RSVP Q&A to follow in the Virtual Lobby
C O N F E R E N C E S C H E
On behalf of the Steering Committee, we hope you are as excited as we are to #RiseUpHEP! Please find below Tuesday’s with Zoom links to the Virtual Lobby where you can go to sessions and bookmark those that you would like to attend All times are printed in Eastern time.
DAY 1: Tuesday, September 10, 2024
10:50-11:00 am | Opening and Welcome in the Virtual Lobby
11:00-12:00 pm | Keynote Presentation in the Virtual Lobby: Speakers: Lawrence Bartley, Chavon Carroll, Martin Garcia; Moderator: Stacey Easiley, Rise Up Inaugural Conference Fellow; Title: Empowering Narratives: The Power of Media and Allyship in Sharing Lived Experiences
12:00-12:15 pm | Coffee Break in the Virtual Lobby
12:15-12:40 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 1
1A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-26 How Engaging with Higher Education in Prison Led to the Creation of TPIB| Arthur Jackson & Steve Brooks
1B: Equity & Inclusion Track
RUEI-27 Equity and Inclusion in the Classroom | Alicia Joel, LCSW | Hudson LinkMercy University (Sing Sing)/Columbia-Greene Community College (Green Haven)
1C: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-52 Confinement to Clerkship: Overcoming Obstacles to Becoming a Lawyer | Jeremiah Bourgeois |Sentencing Guidelines Commission
1D: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-4 Holistic Lifestyle Repositioning through Self-Management Time-Organizing | Cedric Frison | National Alliance for the Empowerment of the Formerly Incarcerated /Northeastern Illinois University
12:40-1:05 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 1
1A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-10 A Life Changing Book Club at Sing Sing | Mujahideen Muhammad | Center for Justice at Columbia University
1B: Equity & Inclusion Track
RUEI-12 Empowering Justice-Impacted Individuals with Disabilities | Ben Wright - The Community | Jenifer Montag, PhD- NCCSD (National Center for College Students with Disabilities)
1C: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-17 Untapped Talent: Employing Legal System Impacted Individuals | Nigel Bowe | JEVS Human Services
1D: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-75 Transforming Reentry through Education and Career Pathways | Andre Ward | The Institute for Justice and Opportunity (IJO)
DAY 1: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 (cont.)
1:05-1:15 pm | Coffee Break in the Virtual Lobby
1:15-1:40 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 2
2A: Equity & Inclusion Track
RUEI-47 Advancing the Role of Formerly Incarcerated Community Health Workers | Daniel Bullman, MPH | University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work and Family Science
2B: Advocacy Track
RUPP-51 From Prison to Professor and Professional | Dr. Dale Lendrum Ed.D. | Antelope Valley College C O N F E R E N C E S C H E D U L E
RUA- 7 The Transformative Journey of Higher Ed in Prison | Lyle C. May | Adams State University
2C: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-56 Career Readiness for College Students Experiencing Incarceration | Mark Taylor, Steven Ladwig , & Maxwell Schnurer | Project Rebound
2D: Allyship Track
RUAS-60 Allyship in College Education: Incarcerated Voices on College Campuses | dave rich-Belmont University | Ciara Graham- University of Tulsa
1:40-2:05 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 2
2A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-43 Buddhism and Evidence Based Mindfulness Practices Inside Prisons | Ayla Benjamin, Nhut Vo, Edwin Paragas, & Tony Koji Wallin-Sato | Boundless Freedom Project
2B: Advocacy Track
RUA- 42 Empowering Change: Budget Advocacy for Formerly Incarcerated Students |Erin McCall, Jonathan Dena, & David Carranza | Cre8innovations
2C: Pathways to Professions Tracks
RUPP-9 Pathways to Professions:Creating Empowering Job Training Programs in Prison | Raquel Pinderhughes
2D: Allyship Track (cont.)
RUAS-60 Allyship in College Education: Incarcerated Voices on College Campuses | dave rich-Belmont University | Ciara Graham- University of Tulsa
2:05-2:30 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 2
2A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-35 Transforming Education Empowering the Incarcerated at Experimental College | Christopher Roberts | SFSU
2B: Advocacy Track
RUA- 28 Advocacy in Action: Empowering F.I. Leaders in Prison Education | Kimberly Haven
2C: Pathways to Professions Track
DAY 1: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 (cont.)
2D: Research/STEM Track
RURS-69 Fellowship Opportunities for Currently Incarcerated Scholars | dave rich | Belmont University
RURS-34 Unlocking Opportunity: Using Technology to Expand Access & Improve Research | Jessica Hicklin | Unlocked Labs
2:30-2:40 pm | Coffee Break in the Virtual Lobby
2:40-3:30 pm | Paper Session 3
3A: Allyship Track
RUAS-24 My College Experience in the Juvenile Justice System | Dalmar Abdi, Nathan Caplin, & Alyssa Clark | Utah Tech University
3B: Allyship Track
RUPIE-37 Not Drowning In It | Joel Negron | Center for Justice and Economic Advancement - Jobs For the Future C O N F E R E N C E S C H E
RUAS- 33 Allyship in Law: Lived Experience Informing Legal Aid Services | Jonathan Bleiweiss & Alex Saiz, Esq | Florida Justice Center
3C: Allyship Track
RUAS-64 Project Rebound Students' Academic Journeys | Kathryn Spiak | San Francisco State University
3D: Allyship Track
RUAS-73 The Law Field for Justice Impacted People | Dieter Tejada, J D | National Justice Impact Bar Association (NJIBA)
3:30-3:45 pm | Break
3:45-4:05 pm | Brief Talks
BTA: Equity & Inclusion Track
RUEI-49 Intergenerational Conditioning- Changing the Narrative Inside our Own Heads | Daniel Bisuano
RUEI-25 Elevate Equity: Rise as a Cultural Change Catalyst | Mariah Manuel-Berry | Knowledge Career Experts LLC
BTB: Advocacy Track
RUA-68 The Real Deal | Benjamin Villaronga
RUA-46 Redemptive Justice: Incarceration, Reentry, and Life After Harm | Jason Kahler
BTC: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-70 Detours of Success | Darrian Bennett | Hudson Link -Mercy College Alumni
RUPP-1 Convicted to CEO | Tahlia Isaac | Strong Empowered Living Free
BTD: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-41 Beyond Academia? Three Things You Need to Know About You! | Ernst Fenelon Jr | Prison Education Project
C O N F E R E N C E S C H E D U L E
DAY 1: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 (cont.)
4:05-4:25 pm | Brief Talks
BTB: Advocacy Track
RUA-36 Transformed Not Trapped | Robert "Nadir" Johnson | South Carolina for Restorative Justice
BTC: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-6 Inside Outside Writing | Trip Taylor | FICGN
RUPIE-29 Inspiring Students Beyond the Textbook with Growth Mindset | Francine Zysk | Jackson Community College
BTD: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-21 Underground Scholars Ambassadors Program | Danny Murillo | University of California Berkeley
RUPIE-53 Pathways to Freedom: Empowering Justice-Impacted Women | Yolanda Williams | GirlTREK
4:25-4:40 pm | Break
4:40-5:05 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 4
4A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-45 ‘On a Day of Dark Disgrace’: Poetic Inquiry Criminological Imagination | Lucas Alan Dietsche | Prison Education Program/Adams State University Institute for Doctoral Studies for the Visual Arts
4B: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-74 Using HBCU Moneyguide, You Can CLEP Too | General Parker
4C: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-3 Restorative Approaches to Re-Entry: Working With Returning Citizens | Sal Corbin, PhD | DC Peace Team
4D: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-67 Level Up-Common Associate Pathway | Marisol Garcia| Yale Prison Education Initiative
5:05-5:30 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 4
4A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-38 School to Prison Pipeline - Stopping Kids Going to Prison in Australia | Lukas Carey | Outcare
4B: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-65 Pathways to a Career in Research as a Person with Lived Experience | James Tompkins- CSUB Project Rebound | Ryan Flinn- University of North Dakota
4C: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-11 Empowering Change Through Self-Regulation | Olivia Easton
4D: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPIE-50 Engineering Safe University Spaces for Formerly Incarcerated Scholars | Tina McPhee | University of New South Wales
5:30-5:45 pm | Day One Closing in the Virtual Lobby
C O N F E R E N C E S C H E D U L E
DAY 2: Wednesday, September 11, 2024
10:50-11:00 am | Opening in the Virtual Lobby
11:00 a m - 12:00 p m Keynote Presentation in the Virtual Lobby: Speakers: Patrick Rodriguez, Thomas Fabisiak, Sinead Young, Pamela Winn | GACHEP
Moderator: Molly Lasagna (Ascendium); Title: Statewide Coalition Building from the Perspective of Shared Leadership
12:00-12:10 pm | Coffee Break
12:10-12:35 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 5
5A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-5 Education is Different for Everyone | Nathaniel Jay | Fortune Society
5B: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-48 Empowering Justice-Impacted Candidates via Technology | Jodi Anderson Jr Stanford University/Cornell University
5C: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-20 The Influence of Digital Equity on Reintegrating with the Fabric of Society | David Moore | Prison Scholar Fund
5D: Mixed Mains/Briefs
RUEI-62 Conquering Barriers: Post-Incarceration Success in Higher Education | Heather Moore, PhD
12:35-1:00 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 5
5A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-66 From Being System Impacted to Impacting the System | Jesse Suarez| Jesse's Place Organization
5B: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-8 From Rising Scholars Student to Project Specialist | Shawn Malone Khalifa Irvine Valley College Rising Scholars Program
5C: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-30 Social Media as Public Political Education: Past, Promise, and Practices | Zachary E Psick | We Are All Students
5D: Mixed Mains/Briefs
RUPIE-58 Empowering Change Through Allyship: Supporting Reentry with Business School Partnerships | Allison Kroboth | Resilience Education
1:00-1:25 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 5
5A: Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-72 Obtaining a Legal Education Post Incarceration | Neil Gallagher | UC Berkeley
5B: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-63 "One Step in Front of the Next” | Jaubrae Dixon | C H A N G E S/ CSUB Project Rebound
C O N F E R E N C E S C H E D U L E
DAY 2: Wednesday, September 11, 2024 (cont.)
5C:Programming & Informal Education Track
RUPIE-19 The Power of Networking: Inaugural Horizons CJEA Fellows |Feliciano Perez, Courtney Everett, Kelly Gilliss, Michaela Martin |Center for Justice & Economic Advancement, Jobs for the Future
5D: Mixed Mains/Briefs
RUPP-17 Untapped Talent: Employing Legal System Impacted Individuals | Nigel Bowe | JEVS Human Services
RUPP-71 Exploring a Career as a Wildland Firefighter | Neil Gallagher | UC Berkeley
RUA-2 Advocacy 101 - Rising Up to Make Change Happen | Jeffrey Abramowitz | Petey Greene Program
1:25-1:40 pm | Coffee Break in the Virtual Lobby
1:40-3:10 pm | Keynote Presentation in the Virtual Lobby: Speakers: Steve Zeidman, Greg Mingo, Jon-Adrian Velasquez, Dan Slepian; Moderator: Joel Jimenez; Title: Using Law & Media in Fighting Wrongful Convictions
3:10-3:25 pm | Coffee Break in the Virtual Lobby
3:25-3:50 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 6
6A:Research/STEM Track
RURS-13 Predicting Victim Versus Offender Status in Sex Trafficking Prosecutions Using the T.R.A.P Typology of Female Defendants | Ava Kamdem- Columbia University | Sarah Sowell Van Dyke - Vanderbilt University
6B: Equity & Inclusion Track
RUEI-31 Abolitionist Praxis and Pragmatism: Lessons from Maine | Victoria Scott | The Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, Fellow & the University of Maine at Augusta, Student
6C: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-55 Reentry is Reinvention | Judith Negron | Unlock Higher Education
6D: Pathways to Professions/Programming & Informal Education Tracks
RUPP-54 Reentry & Education: Expanding Opportunity, Access, and Social Mobility | Jeffrey Stein | Project Rebound Cal State LA
3:50-4:15 pm | Concurrent Paper Session 6
6A:Research/STEM Track
RURS-18 Liberated Intellects: STEM Disciplines at the Forefront | Robert Hall | Stanford University/Liberated Intellects
6B: Equity & Inclusion Track
RUEI-15 The Ontological Power of the Carceral State | William Leaver
6C: Pathways to Professions Track
RUPP-57 Mastered It and No Longer Bound | LaTanicia J Rogers
6D: Pathways to Professions/Programming & Informal Education Tracks
RUPIE-32 The Impact of Petey Greene Program Tutoring in Carceral Spaces | Jeffrey Abramowitz | The Petey Greene Program
4:15-5:00 pm | Open Mic Discussion and Conference Closing in the Virtual Lobby
SUBJECT
Track Descriptions
ADVOCACY
Policy change is a necessary and essential goal. We seek proposals that uplift advocacy efforts led by currently and formerly incarcerated people to increase access to education and opportunities for meaningful careers within the field of higher education in prison.
EQUITY & INCLUSION
Classism and Racism are pervasive in all institutions in the United States including prison and higher education systems We seek proposals that call to the surface the pervasive reality of oppression, as well as possibilities for true equity and inclusion to transform and abolish systems
RESEARCH/STEM
Research allows us to better understand our experiences and contribute to collective knowledge. We seek proposals that demonstrate and uplift the transformative potential of research in all areas with an emphasis on STEM, which is often neglected in higher education in prison programming.
ALLYSHIP (NEW)
Pairs or groups comprising directly impacted people along with their allies to showcase, as co-presenters, the best of what this kind of collaboration can produce. Presenters may describe programs, research projects, campaigns, or any other kind of collaboration that has borne fruit for the reform movement.
PROGRAMMING & INFORMAL EDUCATION
Education is not limited to experiences recognized by institutions. We seek innovative models for education inside and outside of prisons led by currently and formerly incarcerated people
PATHWAYS TO PROFESSIONS
Are you working in a field in which formerly incarcerated applicants face particularly difficult barriers to entry, promotion and advancement, or professional success? In this track, we seek presenters from professional fields traditionally inaccessible to those experiencing lifelong collateral consequences of incarceration.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
We extend our deepest gratitude to our sponsors and partners for their generous support and unwavering commitment to the [Event Name]. Your contributions have been instrumental in making this event possible and ensuring its success.
