I am a first-generation educator who creates inclusive, student-centered spaces that explore how the criminal legal system affects access to higher education.

Community and Advisory Board Involvement.

Teaching and Learning in Prison Advisory Board, Puget Sound Freedom Education Project: The Project seeks to build sustainable partnerships between college and university teaching and learning centers and prison education programs (PEPs) to better support incarcerated students. It addresses challenges such as limited access to campus resources, technological constraints, and the effects of incarceration by leveraging existing instructional expertise and conducting needs assessments with educators and students. The project aims to promote systemic change by integrating teaching and learning support into PEPs and empowering national organizations to take a leadership role in advancing educational equity in prison settings.

Jobs for the Future, Normalizing Education Collective: The Collaborative supports the development and expansion of high-quality postsecondary education pathways in prisons, fostering economic advancement for incarcerated learners. In response to the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility, the Collective builds capacity by connecting postsecondary partners, promoting collaboration, and sharing essential tools and resources. It is grounded in a commitment to strengthening the role of colleges and universities in creating meaningful educational opportunities for incarcerated students.

Faculty Learning Community on Critical Digital Pedagogy: The Community brings together a small group of instructors to encourage collaboration, professional development, and community-building across disciplines. It focuses on exploring student-centered education and promoting best practices for integrating digital pedagogy tools in the classroom. The project also examines how critical pedagogies align with digital tools to support effective teaching approaches.

Open and Affordable Textbooks Award. Rutgers University Libraries: This Award supports course material affordability by promoting the use of open, free, or library-licensed educational resources at Rutgers. It provides research funds to faculty who make their courses more affordable for students through the adoption of low-cost materials and open educational resources (OER). To date, the initiative has contributed to an estimated $6 million in savings for Rutgers students.

Teaching Training and Certifications.

The New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Program: The New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative is a collaboration of higher education institutions in New Jersey working closely with the New Jersey Department of Corrections and Parole Board. It provides incarcerated individuals with access to college courses that count toward a degree during their incarceration. Additionally, NJ-STEP supports students in their transition to college life after release, helping to facilitate successful reentry and continued education.

The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program: The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is an international network of trained faculty, students, alumni, and administrators from higher education and corrections who use an innovative pedagogical approach to foster dialogue across differences. The program connects campus-based students with incarcerated students through a semester-long course held inside prisons, jails, or other facilities. Trained instructors receive an intensive, seven-day pedagogical training inside a maximum-security prison to prepare for this unique educational experience.

Undergraduate Courses Designed and Taught.

Endicott College (In-Person).Corrections, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Mass Incarceration, Research Methods, and Victimology.

Rutgers University (In-Person and Online). Constitutional Issues in Criminal Justice, Contemporary Problems in Corrections, Corrections, Law & Prisons, Mass Incarceration and Collateral Consequences, and Youth Violence.

Quinnipiac University (Online). Prisons & Jails.