I had the opportunity to attend the Beyond The Bars Criminal Justice Conference at Columbia University this weekend. The weekend event kicked off Friday night with a lecture by Angela Davis and Marc Lamont Hill. Saturday, was a host of panels that were both informative and inspiring. I truly enjoyed the “Alternatives to Punishment Paradigm” panel moderated by Glenn Martin from the Fortune Society. I also enjoyed the “Prison to College Pipeline” panel moderated by Susan Sturm. I got the chance to meet some interesting individuals and groups who are doing some great work in criminal justice like College and Community Fellowship who provides educational services and support to formerly incarcerated women. I also met Harry who created an interesting urban community food project at the Urban Rebuilding Initiative for at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals. Good Job to my former colleague Cheryl Wilkins and the whole Columbia School of Social Work and also their partners for putting together an awesome conference.
