Education & Reentry: Learning as a Pathway to Transformation

Education inside prisons has long been one of the most powerful engines of transformation offering people not just credentials but a renewed sense of purpose, identity, and possibility. GED classes, college-in-prison programs, and independent study can turn years of confinement into a foundation for leadership, scholarship, and service during incarceration and after release. This episode explores what happens when a learning journey begins in a cell, the barriers that still limit access to education behind the wall, and what it takes to sustain and expand these programs. Our guest is Dr. Ronald F. Day, COO at The Fortune Society and a formerly incarcerated scholar whose educational journey began while incarcerated. After taking his first college class while incarcerated, he went on to earn an MPA from Baruch College and a PhD in Criminal Justice from the CUNY Graduate Center/John Jay College. He also taught at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Columbia University.