Travel and Impact

Investing to Build Change

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be visiting prisons across the country—facilities in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, California, Kentucky, and beyond. Each visit includes multiple presentations, where I speak for two to three hours with the people living inside federal prisons.

These trips require considerable investment. I’m personally paying for airline tickets, hotels, and rental cars, because I believe this work is essential. If we want to change the system, we must first change ourselves—and that begins with investing the time, energy, and resources necessary to build credibility, trust, and measurable results.

Building Trust, One Institution at a Time

When I walk into a prison, my message is clear:
Preparation is the pathway to freedom.

I encourage every person to memorialize their journey—just as I did during my decades inside. That means building a clear, measurable record that shows growth and purpose. Through our nonprofit, Prison Professors Charitable Corporation, we provide the free platform and educational tools that make this possible.

Every person in prison can begin building a profile through our website.
They can:

• Write their biography to show where they’ve been and where they’re going.
• Journal their progress to document daily decisions and learning.
• Summarize their book reports to show ongoing education.
• Develop release plans to demonstrate clear preparation for success.

These updates earn points on our leaderboard and reflect each person’s pursuit of excellence. As people engage, they not only strengthen their own case for mitigation and early release—they also strengthen the data we use to advocate for broader reform.

Why Visits Matter

Our mission is to create mechanisms that reward merit.
To do that, we must show the Federal Bureau of Prisons and policymakers that people inside are working hard to prepare for law-abiding, productive lives.

Each time I visit a prison, I gather data, build relationships, and demonstrate that people want to change. That’s why Deputy Director Joshua Smith recently sent me a note that read:

“I’ve been hearing great things from several people! God is using you!”
— Joshua J. Smith, Deputy Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons

His words affirm what we’ve believed all along:
Change begins when we invest in people—and lead by example.

How You Can Participate

If you’re going through the system, start today.
Use our free platform at PrisonProfessors.org to begin documenting your progress.
If you’re a family member or friend, help someone inside build their profile by clicking the purple “Profiles” button on our website.

Each update—whether it’s a journal entry, a book report, or a new version of a release plan—helps build a record of growth and accountability. That record may one day open doors to freedom.

Our Shared Commitment

We’re investing to build a model that proves transformation is real.
We’ll continue showing that when people inside work to become extraordinary and compelling, they become the best argument for system-wide change.

Thank you for being part of this movement.

With gratitude,
Michael Santos
Founder, Prison Professors Charitable Corporation