MNEESHA GELLMAN – UNLOCKING THE PERSON INSIDE THE PRISONER
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MNEESHA GELLMAN – UNLOCKING THE PERSON INSIDE THE PRISONER
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What changes when someone in prison is given the chance to become a college student? Dr. Mneesha Gellman, Founder and Director of the Emerson Prison Initiative, (EPI), in Boston, Massachusetts, believed a rigorous college degree program could help create that change. It didn't take much with her background in education in prison, human rights, immigration, and the politics of violence to convince her that college behind bars was a necessity. In 2017 she launched EPI, sharing that she was also inspired by the Bard College Prison Initiative which was launched in 2001. Currently MCI - Norfolk is where her students behind the wall pursue an Emerson College Bachelor of Arts in Media, Literature, and Culture and are taught by Emerson professors and guest faculty. Mneesha shares the incarcerated students' passion for education and the ripple effect beyond the carceral classroom as many students who start their degree path behind the wall not only continue their education, after release, but also are helping others navigate reentry, and inspiring family members to pursue their own goals. Mneesha also created RECOUP which supports formerly incarcerated students with continuing education, employment, housing, healthcare, and other reentry needs.