February 13, 2026: Friday

Presentations in Federal Prison

I concluded my trip to the East Coast with six presentations—three at FCI Fort Dix and three at FCI Fairton.

Anyone who has read Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term may remember that I served part of my sentence inside both of those prisons. Walking back through those gates brought back many memories.

Fort Dix East holds especially meaningful memories for me. It was there that I met my nephew for the first time. My sister Julie brought Zach to visit me when he was about one month old. She and her husband, Tim, named him Zachary Michael Santos Ufkes. Today, he is 26 years old. Our family is proud of the man he has become—earning both an undergraduate and a master’s degree from the prestigious Berklee School of Music. He now builds his career as a professional musician, publishing albums under the name Zach Santos.

Another defining memory from Fort Dix came in 2002, when I received a letter from Carole. We fell in love through letters and visits. On June 24, 2003, Carole married me in the visiting room at Fort Dix. We began building our unconventional life together inside prison walls. Later this year, we will celebrate our 23rd year of marriage. My gratitude for her grows with each passing year.

FCI Ft. Dix

Fort Dix has three facilities: West Side, East Side, and the Camp.

I arrived at 7:30 a.m. and met with executive staff for about thirty minutes. They were welcoming and enthusiastic about bringing our program into the institution. From there, we walked to the West Side gymnasium, where approximately 250 men had gathered.

For two and a half hours, we discussed the importance of using time in federal prison to prepare for the challenges that follow release. The men engaged thoughtfully and asked excellent questions during the Q&A session.

After the West Side presentation, we walked to the East Side, where I delivered another full session. Then we moved to the Camp for the final presentation of the day. In the camp setting, I shifted the focus slightly—speaking more about collateral consequences, reputational management, and the long-term strategies necessary for career development and early termination of supervised release.

Each presentation reinforced a central message: write a new story. Build assets. Prepare intentionally.

FCI Fairton

On Friday morning, I left my hotel at 5:30 a.m. to ensure I arrived at FCI Fairton by 7:00 a.m. The Supervisor of Education welcomed me and brought me to the Warden’s conference room. I shared how our platform works and asked that we pull up the website on the large monitor in the room.

We walked through the leaderboards and filtering tools, showing how staff can assess who is actively memorializing the steps they are taking to prepare for success upon release. I could show that 5,600 people had built profiles on our platform. Collectively, those people have published more than 9.3 million words on our platform. That data helped me show that people who were engaging in our platform were more likely to develop skills that would lead to success upon release from federal prison.

Soon after, we met a crowd of approximately 300 men assembled in a large warehouse space. The session was energetic, interactive, and filled with meaningful dialogue. During the visit, I met a man who had previously been housed at the Florence Supermax facility. He told me that while there, he began working through our programming. Over time, administrators transferred him out of Supermax. He expressed gratitude for being at Fairton and for having used his time more intentionally.

Moments like that affirm why we continue building these resources.

Federal Prison CRB

Following the medium-security presentation, I joined Fairton’s Community Relations Board luncheon. This gathering included local leaders, administrators from the New Jersey prison system, and representatives from nearby colleges.

In that setting, I focused less on reentry tactics and more on broader lessons—what I learned while completing graduate studies during a 45-year sentence, how sentencing policies have shifted over decades, and how reform efforts evolve under different administrations.

I appreciated the opportunity to engage with a professional audience invested in institutional improvement.

Fairton Prison Camp

The day concluded with a presentation to the men at the minimum-security camp. Nearly the entire camp population attended. As I always do in camp presentations, I emphasized long-term career development, managing reputation, and preparing for life after supervised release.

These visits are more than professional engagements for me. They are deeply personal. They allow me to return to places that shaped my life and to contribute in ways that I hope bring clarity and hope to others.

It is my way of serving God. It is my way of honoring the years I spent behind fences. And it is my way of continuing to build pathways that help people prepare for success after prison.