24 de enero de 2026
January 24, 2026: Saturday
W-2 Employees
4:07 am Update
Yesterday afternoon, we purchased a scanner for Celeste Blair, who is joining Prison Professors Charitable Corp as a W-2 employee. I’m enthusiastic about this step. Celeste has been volunteering with us for many years, dating back to the earliest days of the Profiles component of Prison Professors.
The idea for Profiles was inspired by Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb. During the COVID crisis, Brian spoke publicly about having to reduce Airbnb’s workforce by more than 2,000 people. Rather than allowing those individuals to disappear into a spreadsheet, he created a public profile for each one—explaining why that person was extraordinary and compelling, and why other companies would benefit from hiring them.
His leadership inspired me.
It reinforced an idea I had been thinking about for years:
- People need a way to document who they are becoming, not just who they once were.
This strategy helped me grow through 9,500 days in prison. It allowed me to get out with my dignity intact, and with opportunities to prosper.
When we began building the Profiles component of Prison Professors, it started the same way every meaningful project begins—with an idea. From there, we had to build the technology. Then we had to persuade people in prison to use it. Over time, we added a point system so that we could measure that effort, consistency, and growth.
To expand the program, I reached out to people in prison who had worked through Prison Professors courses. That outreach eventually reached Celeste Blair. At the time, Celeste was about 10 years into a 30-year federal sentence. She didn’t just express interest—she offered to help.
Celeste began introducing the Profiles program to women at the federal prison in Aliceville. Her leadership accelerated our growth. She didn’t simply encourage participation; she led by example. Celeste built her own profile to memorialize the steps she was taking to atone, to reconcile with society, and to prepare for a law-abiding life upon release.
That record helped us get to our first 100 participants.
Through disciplined effort and transparent documentation, Celeste built a body of work that positioned her as extraordinary and compelling. Based in part on that record, the President commuted her sentence.
Since returning home, Celeste has continued to volunteer with Prison Professors. We recently collaborated with her in publishing a workbook for other people in federal prison.
Celeste writes regularly to people in federal prison, helping them understand how this community works and why their effort matters. When people document their growth—when they show how they are preparing for success—their work becomes visible. It appears on our leaderboards. Stakeholders notice.
Today, many people in federal prison want to participate, but they lack family members who can help update profiles on their behalf. They write to us directly. We receive hundreds of letters.
We offered Celeste a job. As an employee of Prison Professors, Celeste will take on responsibility for opening those letters and helping facilitate the profile-building process for people who want to demonstrate why they, too, are extraordinary and compelling. Her lived experience, credibility, and leadership make her uniquely suited for this role.
This is how systems grow—not just through ideas, but through people who believe in the mission and are willing to serve it.
I’m grateful to welcome Celeste into this next chapter with us. Later this morning, I’ll drive to meet with Celeste for the first time. I look forward to giving her the scanner and showing her more about our mission to serve people in prison.
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