Greetings Community Members!
Next Monday, at 11:00 a.m. EDT we partner with Correctional Education group moderator Heather Erwin as well as special guests John Linton (ED), Michelle Tolbert (RTI International), and Brian Walsh (Peninsula College). Please be sure to check out their bios below.
We hope you will join us on Monday, July 28th for this special online discussion on how to effectively use new technologies when teaching in secure classrooms. Interested instructors and program administrators are encouraged to join in, ask questions, and share their experiences and lessons learned.
To participate in this exciting discussion meet us in the Correctional Education group here.
Moderator Spotlight:
Ms. Heather Erwin, J.D., is the Executive Director of Programs for American Prison Data Systems (APDS) where she works to introduce innovative education technology into correctional education environments. Most notably, Heather has worked with incarcerated and at-risk populations in the U.S. examining the impact of access to education and the role that human rights and social justice violations play in affecting incarceration and recidivism rates. In addition, she has worked for faith-based lobbying organizations, a death penalty moratorium project, and an alternative sentencing drug treatment program for non-violent offenders.
Dr. John Linton is the Director of the Office of Correctional Education in the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Career Technology and Adult Education (OCTAE), and a member of OCTAE’s Adult Education team. He provides leadership for ED’s work involving educational services to U.S. correctional populations. John also represents ED on the workgroup supporting the cabinet level federal Reentry Council. Prior to his federal appointment, John was director of the education and library programs in Maryland’s adult prisons, working first in Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and then in the Maryland State Department of Education. Trained as a reading teacher, John began his professional career as an adult education teacher in a correctional setting.
Ms. Michelle Tolbert oversees adult education projects focused on improving policies, programs, and resources targeting under-skilled adults. She conducts qualitative research and analysis and provides technical assistance to states and programs in the areas of correctional education and reentry, transitions to postsecondary education, workforce development, community partnerships, and state and federal policy. Her extensive experience in correctional education and reentry includes evaluating postsecondary education reentry programs, providing technical assistance to programs bridging the gap between institution- and community-based education and training programs, and developing a guidebook to support the collection and analysis of correctional education data at the national and state levels. She has also authored a broad array of guides, online tools, policy briefs, research reports, and literature reviews on correctional education, transitions to college and careers, industry recognized credentials, and community partnerships.
Mr. Brian Walsh, M.A. leads the offender education program for Peninsula College at two state prisons in the northwest corner of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula. Brian believes that by providing quality college education, offenders will be less likely to return to prison and be better prepared to care for themselves and their families. As Education Director for Clallam Bay and Olympic Corrections Centers, Brian started the first prison-based Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program, a nationally recognized curriculum for adult education in Washington State. He has led the effort to expand the use of technology in the prison classroom and worked to develop secure ways for faculty within prisons to deliver offenders the same technologically enhanced courses available to the public.
We look forward to chatting with you!
The LINCS Community Team