From our friends at the MIT Club of Washington DC...

The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world: almost 1 in 100 people are incarcerated. A key driver of this is recidivism. However, educational programs in correctional facilities are one of the key, proven ways to reduce recidivism. Brave Behind Bars, based out of The Educational Justice Institute at MIT, is an introductory computer science and career-readiness program for incarcerated people. Taught online, our Summer '22 cohort brought together 55 men and women from correctional facilities across New England and the DC Jail to learn together. In this talk, we'll share more details about the problem, our program results to date, and how we hope to expand in the future.

Recent media about the project:

• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFUsx6nAtsg
• MIT News: https://news.mit.edu/2022/brave-behind-bars-mit-prison-education-computing-skills-for-women-0119
• Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/13/mit-coding-course-dc-jail/

Speakers:

Martin Nisser is a 6th year PhD student in Computer Science at MIT. His work centers on democratizing technology, both hardware and software.

Marisa Gaetz is a 3rd year PhD student in Mathematics at MIT. She works on solutions to mass incarceration with TEJI via education and technology.

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Contact: Mark Johnston johnmark@alum.mit.edu