Bureau of Prisons Advocacy
Our team at Prison Professors continues to advocate for reforms that inspire people in prison to live as if they are the CEO of their lives. Progress requires stronger collaborations, and I am grateful to Deputy Director Joshua Smith of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for authorizing me to meet with him at BOP headquarters in Washington, DC, earlier this week.
This visit was followed by presentations at FCI Hazelton, USP Hazelton, the Secure Female Facility, and FPC Morgantown—each an opportunity to connect directly with people serving federal sentences and staff members in the BOP. We strive to reinforce the importance of building self-directed reentry plans, and documenting the journey.
Meeting at BOP Headquarters
On September 8, I met with Deputy Director Smith and his colleague, Jessica, at Central Office. We spoke about the heavy workload the agency faces as it works to update and support nearly 35,000 staff members.
A major initiative he described is the roll-out of educational tablets across the system, with an RFP expected before the end of 2025.
I presented three requests on behalf of our nonprofit:
- Central Office Support for Presentations: Deputy Director Smith agreed that going forward, I could notify his office when I wanted to make a presentation in any federal prison. The Central Office would inform the wardens that I am visiting with support from the Deputy Director.
- Two-Way Educational Channel: I asked for a mechanism to send free daily lessons to any person who signed up in federal prison, and allow the participants to respond by email without charge. No one should have to pay for educational resources that we provide. Since this request would require input from other branches of the agency, he asked me to prepare a one-pager and pledged to get back to me within three weeks.
- Validation of Partnership: He encouraged me to share publicly about our collaboration, and we took a photo together to validate the progress we are making.
I left optimistic—not only about the tablets initiative, but also about our ability to build on this new level of cooperation.
Presentations at Hazelton
Following my DC meeting, I traveled to Hazelton, West Virginia. On September 9 and 10, I visited FCI Hazelton, the Hazelton Camp, USP Hazelton, and the Secure Female Facility.
Warden Misty Starr and Warden Ken Hoover welcomed me warmly and allowed me to share our program. At each stop, I emphasized:
- The importance of self-directed reentry plans.
- The role of biographies, journals, book reports, and release plans in building a record of excellence.
- Our point system and dashboards, designed to show how participants in Preparing for Success after Prison avoid disciplinary problems and develop skills that align with the agency’s mission.
Presentation at Morgantown
On September 11, I drove to the Federal Prison Camp at Morgantown. The camp, set in a serene, scenic area with lakes and rolling hills, looks more like a resort than a prison.
Warden Joshua Bolar and his team hosted me in their auditorium. I began each presentation with three promises:
- I will always be truthful.
- I will never ask anyone to do anything I did not do.
- No one will pay a penny for the information I share.
My goal was to instill hope and demonstrate that pursuing excellence can open new pathways—whether to lower security levels, work release, or home confinement.
As I told them: “If we help others get what they want, we can get what we want.”
Looking Ahead
These visits reinforced my conviction that we must define excellence and incentivize its pursuit across the Bureau of Prisons. At Prison Professors, we will continue:
- Advocating for merit-based liberty through structured reentry plans.
- Providing free educational content to people in prison.
- Building profiles and point systems that give transparency into who is working hardest to prepare for success.
I am committed to giving 100 percent of my effort to advance this mission and grateful to the BOP leadership and wardens who are opening doors to make it possible.
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