The Teaching in Prison Conference took place at SUNY Genesee Community College on October 8-10, 2025.
This past weekend, CfJ staff and partners participated in the 2025 Teaching in Prison Conference at SUNY Genesee Community College outside of Buffalo. The Conference invited educators, administrators, campus staff, and higher education in prison stakeholders to collaborate on shaping the future of prison education, grounded in the belief that transformation is not just something we foster in others, it’s something we must embody ourselves.
We had the opportunity to screen our award-winning short documentary Degrees of Freedom, about the advocacy of incarcerated women to bring college programs back to New York State prisons in the 90s. Afterward was a talkback with some of the directors and cast members of Degrees of Freedom including Judy Clark, Cheryl Wilkins, Iris Bowen, Deb Fitzgerald, and Aisha Elliot, who recently graduated with her Masters from Columbia.
CfJ also hosted a panel discussion with formerly incarcerated people and in-prison education experts on the nature of carceral pedagogy and how to ensure an abolitionist ethic in prison education.
Professor Noah Remnick, who teaches inside prison through our Justice-in-Education program, received the 2025 Champion of Change Award for his work supporting currently incarcerated people including helping facilitate a book club in Sing Sing.
