The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program

Join us on October 5th for a conversation about Teaching Journalism in Prison 📝

https://mailchi.mp/48a60df84caf/oct-5-zoom-session

This discussion is free and open to all within our Inside-Out community - trained instructors, students, and supporters. Please join us if you are interested in the topic!

Why teach journalism in prison? What are the challenges and limitations of reporting from the inside (including censorship)? Can the inside/out approach mitigate some of these limitations?

This session will discuss the current landscape of prison journalism, the opportunities and challenges of teaching and creating journalism inside, and the potential benefits of teaching journalism skills.

Inside Out with Reiko Hillyer this week on Prison Pipeline

This Monday on Prison Pipeline, we’ll be talking with Reiko Hillyer, a professor of history at Lewis & Clark College, about the Inside Out Prison Exchange Program. Hillyer has taught an Inside Out class called Crime and Punishment in the United States at Columbia River Correctional Institution in North Portland since 2012. The program brings together undergraduate students from Lewis & Clark with incarcerated students to take college-level classes together inside the prison.

Hillyer explains how Inside Out is designed to break down stereotypes and fears between incarcerated and non-incarcerated people. Fifteen Lewis & Clark students and fifteen inside students study together, bringing both academic knowledge and lived experience to the classroom. Hillyer says that human connection can develop almost immediately, and describes how students who initially fear being judged can discover how much they have in common with one another.

We’ll also talk about how the experience changes the way students understand incarceration. Hillyer describes incarcerated students as often being extremely well-read, with extensive knowledge and personal wisdom that they can bring to academic discussions. When the class studies the work of philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, for example, theories about prisons, schools, factories and other institutions take on a very different meaning when students in the room are describing their own experiences of incarceration.

Hillyer also discusses her research into the history of connections between prisons and the outside world. She says there were once more opportunities for incarcerated people to leave prison on furlough, work, speak to community groups and maintain family connections, including conjugal visits. She argues that the increasing isolation of prisons can make the conditions of incarceration invisible to the broader public and can make it easier for fear and distorted ideas about incarcerated people to persist.

And we’ll discuss what happens to a person's relationship with time while they are incarcerated. Hillyer argues that the decline of clemency, parole and educational and other programs can leave people frozen in the public imagination at the moment of their worst act, rather than recognizing that people can grow and change over decades. She contrasts that with the experience of incarcerated people who may spend their time developing skills, earning college degrees, taking accountability, learning and trying to prepare for a future beyond prison.

That conversation with Reiko Hillyer is coming up this Monday on Prison Pipeline. Prison Pipeline airs Monday, September 14, at 6:30 p.m. on KBOO Community Radio, 90.7 FM in the Portland area, and online at kboo.fm. We’ll be talking about Inside Out, prison education, incarceration, isolation, human connection and the possibility of growth and change.

https://kboo.fm/media/135520-inside-out-reiko-hillyer

Mark your calendars! Inside-Out will be hosting its 30th anniversary in 2027 from Friday, October 22nd, in the afternoon to Sunday, October 24th, in the evening at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA - a couple of minutes outside of Philadelphia.

Further information forthcoming - STAY TUNED!

Applications are OPEN for 2027! 📣 Dates for the upcoming Inside-Out Training Institutes are available on our website now: https://insideoutcenter.org/training.html

Note - there is an IN-PERSON opportunity this year - Training #114 in Bucknell, PA. Space is limited, secure your spot today!

Meet the Inside-Out Coaches! 🎤✨

Miranda Gilleo has been involved with The Inside-Out Program since 2021. She is active not only as a coach, but she also now works full-time for The Inside-Out Center as the Director of Operations, supporting training logistics, data, and administrative coordination.

Miranda graduated summa cm laude with her degree in Criminal Justice in the Spring of 2026. She has been awarded a full-tuition scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in Social Justice beginning this Fall. Miranda has also applied her lived experiences through her previous work with a nonprofit that provides Recovery Support Services.

She is also a Research Fellow with the Belonging Forum, studying the transformative impact Inside-Out has on the trajectory of people’s lives. Miranda has always called Bucks County, Pennsylvania home, and is an avid Eagles fan. “Go Birds!”

A donation of any size can help support and expand the work we do 📣 - click here to learn more: https://insideoutcenter.org/supporting-inside-out.html

The Inside-Out training coaches are a shining example of the power of The Inside-Out Program. Their dedication, passion, and drive has helped to shape The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program and Alternative Dialogue and Exchange Initiatives. These folks, hailing from many parts of the US, as well as western Canada and the UK, are all alumni of Inside-Out courses. They offer priceless insight as previous inside students, and continue to provide guidance to those in the Inside-Out Network through their engagement with our training institutes, workshops, and various speaking engagements.

Meet the Inside-Out Coaches! 🎤✨

Trevor has been involved with The Inside-Out Program since 2020 and continues today as a coach. He shared that his experiences with the program have been “uplifting, and instill hope and faith” for change within justice systems around the world, as well as public perception of those impacted. Trevor is from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. He now lives in Ladysmith, British Columbia where he works in a treatment setting which centers Indigenous perspectives. He has also founded an incorporated non-profit that is designed to address institutionalization and support affected individuals. In his free time, Trevor enjoys spending time in nature, foraging, fishing, or hunting. He also plays basketball and soccer. Trevor continues to engage with his Indigenous heritage and culture by attending ceremonies and events whenever he can.

The Inside-Out training coaches are a shining example of the power of The Inside-Out Program. Their dedication, passion, and drive has helped to shape The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program and Alternative Dialogue and Exchange Initiatives. These folks, hailing from many parts of the US, as well as western Canada and the UK, are all alumni of Inside-Out courses. They offer priceless insight as previous Inside-Out students, and continue to provide guidance to those in the Inside-Out Network through their engagement with our training institutes, workshops, and various speaking engagements.

Want to help continue this important work? 📣 Donate today: https://givebutter.com/insideoutcenter

The Office of Defense Services congratulates our very own Tanya Whittle, Ph.D., for her outstanding work in facilitating the University of Delaware’s Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, an initiative aimed at bringing hope, opportunity, and access to higher education to people incarcerated in Delaware.

Dr. Whittle, who now serves in ODS’s post-disposition unit, used her instructor role to break down barriers and create a transformative learning experience where incarcerated students can earn college credits, broaden their perspectives, and participate in meaningful, academic discussions surrounding public policy, law, drug treatment, harm reduction, current events, socio-economic and racial inequities, and other relevant topics.

With more than 90% of incarcerated individuals inevitably being released from prison after serving their sentence, programs like Inside-Out are essential in shaping more successful reentry outcomes.

By promoting personal and academic development and fostering meaningful, second-chance opportunities, Dr. Whittle’s compassionate work reflects ODS’s holistic, client-center approach, recognizing that our clients are far more than just the sum of their worst mistakes.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Whittle on the well-earned recognition of her critical work and leadership.

Read the full Delaware Online Story, “University of Delaware Class Sees Education Reach Across Prison Walls”, linked in the comments below.