Announcing the 2025 Leaders in Higher Education in Prison Fellows – Rockwood Leadership Institute
Rockwood is proud to announce the second cohort of the Fellowship for Leaders in Higher Education in Prison, in partnership with Ascendium. Created to deepen the pipeline of formerly incarcerated leaders in the sector by centering the justice-impacted leaders advancing change, this Fellowship will bring together 25 leaders nationwide engaged in Higher Education in Prison initiatives. The Fellowship will increase leadership capacity, strengthen relationships within and across the sector, and create fertile grounds for leaders to engage in powerfully collaborative and interconnected ways.
Please join us in welcoming and congratulating the 2025 Fellowship for Leaders in Higher Education in Prison cohort…
Mirvais Mir Aminy | Program Director, Project Rebound at California State University Fullerton
Mirvais Mir Aminy is an Afghan-American educator, counselor, and advocate committed to expanding access to higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. Having navigated incarceration and the crimmigration system himself, Mir brings a deeply informed, asset-based approach to his work. He has supported carceral education programs across California, including at Centinela State Prison, California Institution for Women and Calipatria State Prison through San Diego State University’s V.I.S.T.A. Program as well as the Prison Education Program housed at Cal Poly Pomona. Mir holds an M.S. in Counseling with an emphasis on Student Development in Higher Education from CSU Long Beach and a B.A. in Sociology from CSU Fullerton. He currently serves as the Program Director of Project Rebound at CSU Fullerton, a 2024 Justice Fellow with The Education Trust, and a Health Policy Research Scholar with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Mir is pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at Chapman University, where his research centers on disability studies, reintegration, and transformative prison education.
Natalie Aragonez is the Operations and Program Administrator at the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, a national nonprofit advancing access to quality postsecondary education in prison. She supports initiatives that uplift the leadership of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, including Education in Action, a national work-based learning initiative. She also helps lead the Incarcerated Scholars Conference and the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison. Formerly incarcerated and in long-term recovery, Natalie has spent the past seven and a half years expanding opportunities for people directly impacted by the criminal legal system and substance use disorder. She holds a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Systems from MSU Denver. Her greatest source of inspiration is her two children, now thriving young adults. Their shared journey through hardship and reunification has profoundly shaped her purpose and continues to drive her commitment to building systems rooted in access, dignity, and opportunity.
Tosha Big Eagle | Outreach Coordinator and Research Support Specialist, Washington State University, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Tosha Big Eagle is a justice-impacted Indigenous Ph.D. student in Prevention Science at Washington State University Vancouver. She works as an Outreach Coordinator and Research Support Specialist with the PRISM Collaborative at WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. Her research focuses on health equity, harm reduction, mass incarceration, gender development, aging, death education, and Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Tosha earned her B.A. in human development, psychology, and addiction studies in 2022 and her M.S. in Prevention Science in 2025. She leads a study on health equity and care access for aging incarcerated women with dementia and other non-normative conditions. She also collaborates with the HOPE Team at the Washington Correction Center for Women to develop an intergenerational elder care model and advocate for compassionate end-of-life care. Grounded in her own experiences with trauma, addiction, and incarceration, Tosha is most proud of her role as a mother to two young children.
Eldredge Blalock’s story is one of resilience and transformation. After serving 21 and a half years, during which he read his first book while sitting in a prison cell, he was released with two college degrees in hand. Following his release, he continued to pursue his education and successfully obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Criminal Justice. Today, Eldredge serves as the Development Director at Hudson Link, a position that enables him to draw on his personal experiences to enrich his role. As an alumnus of the Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison program, he spearheads crucial fundraising initiatives like the annual Gala, direct appeals, and year-end and capital campaigns. These efforts are not just about raising funds; they are about giving back and ensuring that others have access to the same opportunities for growth and education that he had.
David Delvalle | Education and Reentry Director, Tufts Prison Initiative
David Delvalle is the first formerly incarcerated man to attend Tufts University, where he now serves as the Education and Reentry Director for the Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College (TUPIT). After serving ten years at MCI-Concord, David emerged as a passionate advocate for justice-impacted students, civic engagement, and educational equity. His work spans youth development, nonprofit leadership, and community building, and he brings lived experience and academic insight to the forefront of higher education in prison. A national finalist for the Truman Scholarship, David is also a proud father to his 13-year-old daughter, Nana, and is committed to transforming systems through education, policy, and human connection.
Amy Doty | Dean, UPWARD Prison Education Program Southeast Community College
Amy Doty is the Dean of Correctional Education and Criminal Justice Programs, where she leads a newly established division supporting five active PEPs across four correctional facilities. As a committed HEP leader, Amy brings lived experience to her role having spent ten years in state and federal prisons, where she began her own college education. After her release, she earned three degrees and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership. Amy has taught in a facility where she was formerly incarcerated and has contributed to both state and federal reentry initiatives. She is an active member of the Womxn’s Higher Education Prison Consortium, the Nebraska Postsecondary Education Consortium, the Reentry 2030 Nebraska Workforce Cohort, and the Transform Nebraska Network—collaborative efforts with state agencies and policymakers focused on improving reentry outcomes. Her work centers student agency, voice, and choice—foundations she sees as essential to transformation and opportunity.
Darryl Epps Jr. | Deputy Director, State University of New York (SUNY) Office of Higher Education in Prison
Darryl Epps Jr. is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of higher education in prison, believing deeply in its generational impact on families and communities. With a foundation in counseling justice-involved youth and adults, Darryl has led impactful work at the Institute for Justice and Opportunity at John Jay College and The Fortune Society. He currently serves as Deputy Director of SUNY’s Office of Higher Education in Prison, where his leadership has expanded access to education and an academic reentry navigation system across New York State’s prisons. A 2025 Robin Hood Hero and Justice-in-Education Scholar at Columbia University, Darryl holds degrees from SUNY Cayuga, the College of Staten Island, and a master’s from Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work. An alumnus of Cornell’s Prison Education Program, his commitment to equity, justice, and fair chances drives his statewide and national advocacy fueling programmatic efforts to open doors and create brighter futures for all learners.
Christopher Etienne is a multimedia strategist with a background in creative writing, journalism, and video production. Educated as a documentary filmmaker and an Africana studies historian, he aims to use his skills to spotlight injustices and raise awareness about social issues. He has demonstrated his commitment to this work throughout his professional life. In the spring of 2015, Christopher joined the NJ STEP program staff, where he tutored formerly incarcerated individuals seeking post-secondary education. Currently, he serves as a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University and as the Student Program Coordinator for the Prison Teaching Initiative at Princeton University. In this capacity, Christopher develops curricula for incarcerated college students pursuing opportunities in STEM fields, leads instructional workshops for instructors and postdoctoral students, and provides support for summer interns engaged in advanced research projects. He hopes to continue using education to enlighten those who lack knowledge, expand educational opportunities for individuals affected by the justice system, and empower marginalized communities.
Courtney C. Everett | Director of Finance & Development, Saint Louis University Prison Education Program
Courtney Everett is the Director of Finance and Development for Saint Louis University’s Prison Education Program, where he leads budgeting, fundraising, and community engagement initiatives. He’s also the Founder of EverRhett Group, LLC, where he helps mission-driven organizations strengthen their financial strategies, reentry efforts, and community engagement. Courtney’s path to leadership was shaped by his own lived experience: he spent 18 years incarcerated, during which he earned an Associate degree from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Adams State University. After his release, he completed an MBA in Global Management and Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University. His journey—from incarceration to scholar and systems-level change agent—reflects his belief that “learning in the process of living is the deepest form of freedom.” Courtney is passionate about expanding access to higher education and economic opportunities for justice-impacted individuals. He works to center the voices of those most impacted and build collaborative pathways for systemic change.
Kimberly Haven is a nationally recognized advocate, strategist, and thought leader in the field of HEP. With more than two decades of experience advancing educational equity for justice-impacted communities, she brings a unique blend of lived experience, policy expertise and executive leadership. She is a Board Member of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, and inaugural Steering Committee Member of the Unlock Higher Ed Coalition, and a co-founder of the RiseUp Conference, a national convening focused on centering the voices and leadership of directly impacted people. She has helped shape national conversations around postsecondary access, reentry and systems change. Her work spans policy reform, program development, coalition building, public speaking and advocacy – always centering the voices and leadership of those directly impacted. She is deeply passionate about dismantling structural barriers to education and creating pathways to opportunity that empower individuals, strengthen communities, and transform lives. Her vision is rooted in the belief that education is not just a tool for liberation – it is a human right.
Jovanda Irving is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Positive Psychology. After spending 14 years incarcerated, she transformed her circumstances into a path of learning and advocacy. Passionate about social justice, Jovanda focuses on how education can disrupt the cycles of mass incarceration. She actively works in advocacy spaces, raising awareness about the importance of education and reintegration programs. A dedicated mother to a 19-year-old studying criminal justice, Jovanda also shares her life with her dog, Jack Jack. She is a published writer, with her non-fiction essay “The God of Pleas” featured in Iron City Magazine. Currently, she is developing a training program for reintegration professionals and preparing for entry into a PhD program. Jovanda’s journey reflects resilience, transformation, and a deep belief in the power of education to change lives.
Amanda is a dedicated advocate for higher education in correctional settings and social justice reform. She has served as the Executive Director of Iowans Unafraid and currently sits on the board of a national organization, where she actively works to address incarceration issues and promote equitable, reform-driven policies. Additionally, Amanda is a Planning and Development Team Associate for W.A.S.H. (Women Against Sexual Harm), an organization focused on healing and education through workshops on sexual harm prevention. As ambassador for the Iowa Consortium for Higher Education in Prisons, she has been instrumental in advocating for expanded access to higher education aiming to dismantle barriers and create new opportunities for personal and societal transformation. Although recent challenges have temporarily halted her work with ICHEP, her commitment to increasing educational opportunities for incarcerated individuals remains steadfast. Amanda is focused on developing programs that support higher education initiatives, ultimately fostering reintegration, justice, and transformative change within the correctional system.
Michael Lozano is a formerly incarcerated individual who graduated with an Associates of Arts Degree from Madison College, following a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration with a minor in Spanish, and lastly, a Masters of Business Administration with an Emphasis in Finance, both from University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Michael’s journey has been marked both by felonies but also impactful roles in academic program management and student recruitment. Currently, he serves as a Correctional Education Coordinator for Second Chance Pell at Milwaukee Area Technical College, where he spearheads the implementation of educational programs for students who are incarcerated including The Welding Fundamentals Degree Program and both Associate of Arts and Science Degree Programs. This and previous roles have honed his skills in communication, leadership, and strategic planning, enabling him to make meaningful contributions to educational access and student success throughout the judicial system in Wisconsin.
Erin McCall is the Development Director at Cre8innovations, a nonprofit focused on housing and educational access for formerly incarcerated college students. In 2025, she helped launch Legacy House, a housing program for justice-impacted students in Oakland, and is currently collaborating to develop an education-based step-down program for youth in juvenile halls. A UC Berkeley graduate in Legal Studies, Erin previously served in leadership roles with the Underground Scholars Initiative, where she started a wellness fund that raised over $200,000 in stipends and supported a successful campaign to secure $4 million in ongoing state funding to expand the program UC-wide. Her work is informed by personal experience with incarceration, reentry, and academic disruption, and is focused on building practical, community-rooted solutions to systemic barriers in education and reentry.
Tiece Riddick | Assistant Dean of Community Relations, NJ-STEP, Rutgers University
Tiece Riddick, LCSW, is a seasoned Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over two decades of experience dedicated to advancing equity, mental wellness, and access to opportunity for disenfranchised communities. She currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Community Relations for the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) at Rutgers University. With a professional foundation rooted in mental health and justice reform, Tiece brings a unique and compassionate perspective to her leadership. Her work centers on building strategic partnerships across Rutgers and with public and private stakeholders to expand reentry support and career pathways for system-impacted students and alumni. A proud two-time graduate of Rutgers University, Tiece holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. Her contributions to the NJ-STEP/Mountainview Community have been recognized by Rutgers–Camden and the Camden City Council, honoring her as a transformative leader committed to holistic student success and higher education access for justice-impacted individuals.
Elizabeth Shatswell | Correctional Education Manager, JSTOR Labs, ITHAKA
Elizabeth Shatswell is passionately committed to community building and generational sustainability, viewing access to education as a vital pathway to fellowship, the preservation of essential knowledge for future generations, and a powerful form of resistance against legislative, systemic, and cultural erasure. After serving 23 years of a juvenile life-equivalent sentence, Elizabeth was granted juvenile parole in 2023. During her incarceration, she overcame numerous educational barriers, including sentence length restrictions and learning disabilities, transforming these challenges into catalysts for creating alternative pathways to education and fostering connections with others in similar circumstances. Today, Elizabeth serves as the Correctional Education Manager at ITHAKA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global access to education, where she focuses on the JSTOR Access in Prison Initiative. She also partners academically with the University of Puget Sound to research HEP pedagogical practices and faculty training, and as the Federal Chair with #UnlockHigherEducation, a P2P initiative.
Shani Shay | Founder/Director, Incarceration to College
Shani Shay is the Founder and Director of Incarceration to College, an organization supporting incarcerated and system-impacted students through college access, reentry planning, and mentorship. A graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard University, Shani has developed and led trauma-informed, culturally-rooted higher education programs across juvenile halls, jails, and prisons. Her work builds educational pathways that extend beyond release, connecting students to UC, CSU, and community college systems. She was selected to present at the 2025 National Symposium on Juvenile Justice and Services and has received multiple honors for her work, including the Echoing Green Social Impact Talent Report, the Harvard Equity and Inclusion Fellowship, and the Cal Alumni Leadership Award. Through her work, Shani advances a vision of higher education grounded in healing, opportunity, and transformation.
Maurice Smith, a graduate of the Goucher Prison Education Program, has dedicated his efforts to improving access to higher education for incarcerated individuals. After spending 27 years within the Maryland Department of Safety and Corrections, he joined the Vera Institute of Justice in 2020 as a Program Associate. In this role, he provides technical support to correctional departments and colleges, helping them establish or enhance educational programs for people in prison. Maurice also played a key role in co-managing Vera’s Corrections Education Leadership Academy, a career development program for correctional education professionals, college administrators, and other stakeholders committed to expanding educational opportunities in correctional facilities. Recently, Maurice earned his Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University-Newark. Having experienced firsthand the impact of modeling negative behaviors in his community, he is now devoted to serving as a mentor and example for incarcerated individuals, showing them that transformation is achievable.
Jessica Snow | Program Manager of Community & Curriculum, Resilience Education
Jessica Snow is a mother, educator, and curriculum developer residing in Baltimore, MD. As a lifelong learner herself, she is passionate about access to education both pre and post-incarceration. Jessica desires to use her skillset and lived experience to help communities overcome stigma, experience healing, build an increased sense of self-worth, and pursue their educational and career goals despite the societal challenges they may face. She currently pursues this work as the Program Manager of Community and Curriculum at Resilience Education. With experience in operations, marketing and communications, and program development, Jessica holds a B.A. in Music and Education from Emory & Henry College, and is a fierce advocate for increased fair chance opportunities for justice-involved communities. She has served as a panelist and speaker in the fields of research, higher education, and criminal justice speaking to these issues.
Sherika Stewart-Rivera is a dynamic leader and strategist with a Master of Public Administration and a fierce commitment to justice, equity, and transformation. As the founder of Great Work Solutions, she helps mission-driven organizations strengthen operations, strategy, and impact. Originally from Jamaica, Sherika brings a global lens and deep lived experience to her work, having rebuilt her life and career in the five years since her incarceration. In that time, she has led major initiatives across human services and education, driven policy change, and empowered system-impacted communities. Her leadership blends analytical rigor with empathy, turning obstacles into pathways and strategy into liberation. Sherika is proof that radical transformation is not only possible—it’s powerful.
Nahlee Suvanvej serves as Director of Portland State University’s Higher Education in Prison Program. She developed and implemented best practices in preparation of Pell reinstatement for incarcerated students at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s only women’s prison. Nahlee trail blazed PSU as the first university in Oregon and among the first in the nation to receive the Federal Department of Education Prison Education Program (PEP) approval (2024). She draws upon years of lived expertise to inform her approach to practice and leadership, and strives to foster agency and community among students while incarcerated, and post-release. A member of the Oregon Coalition on Higher Education in Prison (OCHEP), Nahlee collaborates on state policy and legislative advocacy to expand higher education pathways across Oregon, and to reduce collateral consequences for people with convictions. In her spare time, Nahlee enjoys playing softball, snowboarding, and time with family.
Jarrod Wall | Justice Research Fellow, EdTrust
During his 26 years of incarceration, Jarrod Wall earned several degrees (AA, BA, BS, MA) and administered an onsite college program for over 12 years. Being a student and college program clerk helped him gain an insider’s perspective on the implementation and maintenance of postsecondary education programs in prison, as well as barriers to equity. Since his release in 2015, he earned an MS in Psychology, and applied to Ph.D. programs for three years, but was repeatedly denied due to his criminal legal background. Now, he is a sixth-year Ph.D. Candidate at Tulane University. Jarrod has worked with over 10 prison college programs as a college instructor, researcher, evaluator, and coach. His dissertation, “Living in Prison is Not Free,” focuses on college affordability for incarcerated students. To implement quality, equitable college prison programs, Jarrod emphasizes the need for including the voices of both formerly and currently incarcerated individuals.
Brandon Warren earned an Associate of Arts in Humanities from the Lee College Huntsville Center while incarcerated. After his release, he completed a B.A. in Counseling, an M.Div., an M.A. in Philosophy, and a Doctorate in Ethical Leadership from the University of St. Thomas. In 2011, he helped launch the first accredited prison seminary in Texas and, in 2017, developed Lee College’s pioneering reentry services department. In 2024, he joined Adams State University as Mellon Program Coordinator, where he developed a first-of-its-kind initiative to hire currently incarcerated graduate students as adjunct instructors. In 2025, Brandon returned to Lee College, where he now teaches philosophy in the prison education program. Since 2011, he has taught philosophy, ethics, world religions, and critical thinking in college-level prison education programs across the country, including those of Lee College, Hannibal-LaGrange University, Adams State University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Jeremy started a Higher Education in Prison program in 2018 at Turney Center Industrial Complex. As a student, Jeremy worked to help the culture of prison life by being an example. He was released in 2021 and continued his higher education path at Nashville State Community College where he became a Coach to students who were enrolled and needing guidance post entry. Jeremy graduated in August, 2022 and then went on to Austin Peay State University and will graduate August 2025 with his bachelor’s in Finance. Jeremey serves as an Alumni Success Coach for the Tennessee Higher Education Initiative.
Tracy P. Williams is Director of Reentry Services, manager of the Pathways grant, and an instructor at Lee College in Texas. Previously, he directed policy and outreach for the Texas Incarcerated Families Association, supporting system-impacted families and criminal justice reform. Tracy holds a bachelor’s from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a master’s from UT Arlington, and is a PhD student in Higher Education at Texas Tech. He is a certified Reentry Peer Specialist with expertise in finance, budgeting, grant writing, and nonprofit management. An author, actor, producer, and playwright of the stage play “Sins of My Father,” he is also a motivational speaker who presents on higher education in prison and the carceral system, drawing from over twenty-five years of lived experience. Tracy received Lee College’s Distinguished Alumni Award (2022), was selected for VERA Institute’s Correctional Education Leadership Academy (2023), and joined the Texas Prison Education Program Advisory Council (2024). His faith in Christ guides him as a husband, father, grandfather, and associate pastor.
