BPI Summer Residency

Jocelyn Apicello

Urban Farming & Sustainability Faculty Advisor

Jocelyn Apicello has been teaching public health courses with BPI since 2012 and is the Urban Farming & Sustainability Faculty Advisor. She helps the BPI gardeners grow in the BPI gardens at Fishkill, Taconic and Woodbourne facilities and works with alumni when they return home to keep land stewardship a part of their practice. She oversees BPI’s Community Engagement Stipend, which encourages and recognizes alumni’s important work in their communities. She also runs her own farm in the Hudson Valley where she trains new and diverse farmers skills in regenerative agriculture, self sufficiency and community organizing. She holds a DrPH from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health where she wrote about the public health impacts of gentrification in New York City.

Patrick Bannon ’21

Reentry Advisor, Bard Prison Initiative

Patrick Bannon is a justice-impacted person who spent over 31 years in the New York State carceral system. He holds a BBA in Advertising from Baruch College and also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), where his comprehensive senior project examined the harmful effects of locker-room talk and its role in perpetuating discursive violence against women. An original member of the BPI Acting Ensemble, he continues to pursue acting opportunities in NYC, driven by a commitment to storytelling and social justice. Patrick’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of education and the human spirit’s capacity for growth and redemption.

Megan Callaghan

Dean, BPI

A cultural anthropologist whose scholarship and teaching focuses on Northern Ireland, Megan Callaghan was hired from the Bard faculty to lead BPI’s academic administration. Since 2011, she has worked with colleagues to add and expand degree programs across seven New York State prisons, developed partnerships with community-based institutions to create the Bard Microcolleges, and introduced the BardBac, a full-scholarship pathway for students to complete degrees on the main campus of Bard College.

Shahein Clay ’17

Founder, Corrections Reform Group

Shahein Clay ’17 is a speaker, educator, and consultant whose journey from incarceration to higher education embodies the power of personal transformation. While incarcerated, he completed BPI’s pedagogy program, tutored peers in science and math, and helped lead the BPI Debate Union in a celebrated victory against West Point Military Academy. Today, Shahein is a graduate student in Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University, where his research focuses on the epigenetic impact of trauma. He is the founder of Corrections Reform Group (CRG), a consulting and training organization dedicated to cultivating leadership, wellness, and equity within systems of justice and education.

Kate Cox

Director of Development

Kate is Director of Development for the Bard Prison Initiative and has been with BPI since 2019. Prior to BPI, Kate worked as Capacity Building Advisor for the New York Council on Nonprofits and spent many years supporting community and national public radio and other story-telling endeavors. Kate completed a Masters in Social Work from Tulane University in 2017 and has 2 decades of experience across the non-profit sector- in philanthropy, capacity building, strategic planning, and project management. Kate lives in Rhinecliff, NY with her husband and son.

Amy Cox Hall

Assistant Dean

Amy Cox Hall is the Assistant Dean for BPI. Prior to joining BPI in 2022, she taught at Amherst College and University of North Carolina – Charlotte. A writer and anthropologist with specializations in Peru and the U.S., her research focuses on national heritage, photography, science, race, and most recently food. She is the author of Framing a Lost City: Science, Photography and the Making of Machu Picchu (University of Texas, 2017; Spanish translation, IEP, 2020) and editor of The Camera as Actor: Photography and the Embodiment of Technology (Routledge, 2020). Her second book, The Taste of Nostalgia: Women, Race and Culinary Longing in Peru, will be published by University of Texas Press in fall 2023.

Brianna Estrada ’21

Site and Tutor Coordinator

Brianna Estrada ’21 serves as the Tutor Coordinator for the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) and the Site Coordinator for both Coxsackie and Taconic Correctional Facilities. In this role, she supports Bard students on the Annandale campus and BPI’s college campuses by providing tailored academic support and coordinating peer tutoring. A Bard College alum, Brianna earned her BA in Environmental and Urban Studies and Historical Studies. As a graduate of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), she brings a deep commitment to educational access and equity to all aspects of her work.

Vanessa Estimé

Vanessa Estimé serves as Assistant Director for the Yale Prison Education Initiative at Dwight Hall at Yale. She has worked in higher education, the judicial branch of state government, and non-profit community agencies in New Haven and Bridgeport (Connecticut) since 2011. Vanessa received her BS in Legal Studies from the University of New Haven, and MSW from Simmons College School of Social Work. She is a licensed social worker and certified childbirth educator and birth doula. Vanessa is delighted to be a part of the Yale Prison Education Initiative and support the movement of college in prison.

Madeleine George

Director of Admissions

Madeleine George is Director Admissions and has worked with BPI since 2006. She was the Site Director of the Bard program at Bayview Correctional Facility from 2006 until its closing in 2012, collaborated on the development of BPI’s writing and grammar curriculum, and helped launch all three Microcollege campuses, as well as the Bard Bacalaureate. She holds a B.A. from Cornell, and an MFA from NYU.

Natalia Guzmán Solano

Assistant Director of Admission and Faculty Fellow for the Microcolleges

Natalia Guzmán Solano is a faculty fellow and assistant director of admission at the Bard Microcolleges in New York City. She is an activist-scholar who envisions knowledge production as a collaborative practice. Natalia is the granddaughter of Argenides Rosso de Solano and on her paternal side she comes from the line of Bertilda Franco. She lives on Canarsie Lenape territory in what is otherwise known as Queens, NY. In her scholarship, Natalia implements transdisciplinary methodological approaches as a way toward reparative justice in the academy. Natalia has used testimonio as an indispensable entry into decolonizing anthropological knowledge. This work largely focuses on themes of gender and water protection in the fraught extractive economies of north highland Peru. Natalia earned a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis.

Sayra Havranek

Associate Director of Institutional Advancement & Engagement

Sayra Havranek is the Associate Director of Institutional Advancement and Engagement at the Bard Prison Initiative. Sayra has more than a decade of experience across the public and private sectors, specifically in nonprofit development and communications. She recently completed a Master’s of Public Administration at Marist College, where she also earned a bachelor’s of professional studies and graduated summa cum laude. Sayra is a member of the Pi Alpha Alpha and Alpha Chi academic honor societies and an active volunteer with numerous New York City-based social justice organizations.

Demetrius James ’17

Program Director, Bard Microcollege for Just Community Leadership

Demetrius James is Program Director at the Bard Microcollege for Just Community Leadership in Harlem, and an actor, writer, and educator who was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. After studying literature and the humanities, his interest in agriculture in urban areas was piqued after working in the Bard garden at Fishkill Correctional Facility.

Claysaun Jones ’21

Housing Coordinator

Claysaun Jones ’21 is a Housing Coordinator at BPI, where he has served since October 2024. With over two and a half years of experience in the housing and social services sector, Claysaun brings a deep understanding of the complexities of New York City’s housing landscape. He specializes in helping formerly incarcerated individuals and other marginalized populations navigate the challenges of securing stable housing, including access to housing vouchers and market-rate apartments across all five boroughs.

Claysaun’s work is rooted in advocacy, equity, and empowerment. He has built strong relationships with landlords, housing providers, and community organizations to ensure successful placements and long-term housing stability for BPI alumni. His insights and practical expertise have made him a sought-after speaker, and he has served as a panelist at multiple NYC housing events where he shares guidance on housing access, policy, and systemic barriers

Jeffrey Jurgens

Faculty Chair, Bachelor’s Degree Program

Jeff Jurgens is Continuing Associate Professor of Anthropology at Bard College and Faculty Chair of the Bachelor’s Degree Program in the Bard Prison Initiative. He is also the faculty lead for the OSUN network collaborative course A Lexicon of Migration, which has been taught at Bard College Annandale, Bard College Berlin, Al-Quds Bard, and the American University of Central Asia since 2019. He specializes in topics related to migration, citizenship, public memory, urban space, and secularism among people of Turkish backgrounds in Berlin. More recently, he has examined the cultural and affective politics of the “refugee crisis” in Germany and Europe since 2015. His publications have appeared in journals like Policy and Society, Transit, and Turkish-German Studies Yearbook as well as the edited volumes After the Imperialist Imagination (2020), Different Germans, Many Germanies (2017) and Walls, Borders, Boundaries (2012). Prior to his arrival at Bard, Jurgens received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan and taught at Pitzer College.

Max Kenner ’01


Executive Director, Tow Chair for Democracy & Education

Max Kenner is the founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative. A leading advocate for the restoration of college-in-prison, Kenner is also co-founder of the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison, and Bard Microcollege, which establishes rigorous, tuition-free college opportunity within urban areas in partnership with community-based Institutions. At Bard College, Kenner serves as Vice President for Institutional Initiatives and Advisor to the President on Public Policy & College Affairs. He has served on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s New York State Council on Community Re-Entry and Reintegration since its inception. He holds a B.A. in Historical Studies from Bard College.

James Kim ’21


Program Director, Bard Microcollege at the Brooklyn Public Library

Having previously worked as Lead Tutor and Student Recruitment Specialist and Program Coordinator, James is currently Program Director with the Bard Microcollege at the Brooklyn Public Library. After serving a twenty year sentence in prisons throughout New York State, James was released from incarceration in 2020. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2021 through the Bard Prison Initiative upon successful completion of his senior project titled: The Myth of Immigrant America and the Federalization of Immigration Control. Inspired by his experience with education in carceral settings, James believes in expanding access to quality education to overlooked and marginalized populations, and is deeply committed to addressing inequality and inequity in the current landscape of higher education in the United States.

Jennifer Martinez ’24

Tutor, Bard Microcollege for Just Community Leadership

​​Jennifer Martinez ’24 is a graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative, having obtained an AA in liberal arts. In 2024, she went on to earn a BA in Politics and Human Rights from Marymount Manhattan College. She was released in August of 2024 after serving four and a half years. Jennifer is currently the full-time tutor for the Bard Microcollege in Harlem. Having experienced higher education while incarcerated, Jennifer has lived through the transformative power of college-in-prison programs serving as a catalyst for correcting the dehumanizing effects of the carceral system. Jennifer is currently exploring options for a graduate program in Sociology.

Delia Mellis ’86


Associate Dean

Delia Mellis is Associate Dean of the Bard Prison Initiative. A historian of race and gender in the United States, she has been a member of the BPI faculty since 2008 and joined its administration in 2011. An Associate of Bard’s Institute for Writing and Thinking, Delia holds a Ph.D. in United States History from the CUNY Graduate Center and a B.A. from Bard College. Her recent publications include a chapter in the edited volume Reconsidering Roots: Race, Politics, and Memory (University of Georgia Press, 2017).

Jesse Miller

Site Director for College Operations at Albion

Jesse Miller is Site Director for the Bard Prison Initiative’s program at Albion Correctional Facility where he has taught since the program’s inception in summer 2022. A literary scholar by training, he received a PhD in English from the University at Buffalo in 2017 and held a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Santa Barbara from 2019-2020. He has published research on literary modernism, the history of reading, and therapeutic culture in Modernism/Modernity, Modern Fiction Studies, and Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal.

Jessica Neptune ’02


Director of National Engagement

Jessica Neptune is Director of National Engagement and leads BPI’s Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison. She founded the Women’s College Partnership at the Indiana Women’s Prison. As an ACLS Public Fellow, she served as a policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with the Obama Administration’s Federal Interagency Reentry Council, co-leading interagency working groups on Children of Incarcerated Parents and Incarcerated Women. She holds a B.A. from Bard College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from the University of Chicago. Her scholarship is on the making of the carceral state and the policies and politics at the nexus of race, poverty, addiction, and punishment.

Sonia Padilla

Career and Professional Advancement Advisor

Sonia joined BPI as the Career and Professional Development Advisor in 2023 and has worked with over 100 alumni. With a strong commitment to social justice and workforce equity, Sonia specializes in supporting post-incarcerated individuals as they transition into meaningful employment. Through mock interviews, resume and cover letter crafting, salary negotiating, and more, she brings compassion, structure, and strategy to her work—helping students build confidence, sharpen job-readiness skills, and access opportunities that align with their long-term goals. Sonia’s mission is to empower individuals to reclaim their futures, one career milestone at a time.

Andrés Pletch

Faculty Advisor

Andrés Pletch is Faculty Advisor to the BA Program for the Bard Prison Initiative. He teaches classes on Caribbean and Latin American history, as well as core-curriculum classes, such as First-Year Seminar and the Major Seminar in Social Studies. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Rupali Rifenburg

Director of Budget and Financial Aid

Rupali Rifenburg is the Director of Budget and Financial Aid at the Bard Prison Initiative, a role she has held since 2021. Specializing in financial aid for prison education, Rupali works to redefine how students access and understand financial aid. She has developed and led informative financial aid workshops, created pathways to critical financial resources, and provided individualized advising on a wide range of aid programs. Rupali holds a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling, which strengthens her student-centered approach and commitment to advocacy in higher education.

Jonathan Rodriguez ’24

Case Manager, Fort Washington Men’s Shelter

Jonathan Rodriguez is a case manager at Fort Washington Men’s Shelter, where he connects men experiencing mental illness and addiction with critical social services. Since his release from Fishkill Correctional Facility in July 2024, Jonathan has forged a path defined by resilience and purpose. He completed his B.A. requirements through the Bard Prison Initiative prior to release, collaborated with BPI’s Reentry Team to strengthen his professional profile, and secured full-time employment. Within months, he earned a promotion and bought his first car—milestones that reflect his drive and determination. Currently, Jonathan is a finalist in the Ford Foundation’s hiring process, and he’s just getting started.

Zachary Schwartz-Weinstein

Site Director, Woodbourne Correctional Facility

Zach Schwartz-Weinstein is BPI’s site director for Woodbourne. He has a PhD in American Studies from NYU and is writing a book about the history of university labor.

Patrick Stephens ’19

Associate, WeBridge Solutions, NY

Patrick Stephens is an Associate at WeBridge Solutions, Leadership Fellow at the Center for Community Alternatives, freelance writer for The Appeal magazine, board member of Columbia Reentry, and Advisory Council member of the Children’s Defense Fund. He is also an adjunct member of the New York City Bar Association’s Mass Incarceration Task Force and sits on its Corrections and Community Reentry Committee. As a systems impacted person, he is an avid restorative justice practitioner and advocate for trauma informed care. As an alumni of both the Bard Prison Initiative, where he earned his BA degree, and New York Theological Seminary, where he earned his Masters degree, he is a public speaker, consultant, and advocate for prison abolition.

Rebecca Swanberg ’14

Site Director at Fishkill

Rebecca Swanberg is BPI’s Site Director at Fishkill Correctional Facility and is a member of the writing faculty. She holds a BA in Written Arts from Bard College and an MFA from the University of Montana. A fiction and nonfiction writer, her work has been published or is forthcoming in EPOCH, Gulf Coast, Passages North, and other venues.

Dyjuan Tatro ’18

Senior Government Affairs Officer

Dyjuan Tatro is the Senior Government Affairs Officer for BPI, and a legal reform advocate and strategist who has worked to bridge the gap between policy and practice. As an alumnus of Bard Prison Initiative, Dyjuan has leveraged his education and experience to shift public policy in favor of expanding college-in-prison. He has worked on successful, social impact campaigns in favor of Pell restoration at the national level and restoration of Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants in New York State along with other reforms at the municipal, state, and federal levels. He is an active member of the Fortune Society’s Board of Directors and serves as the Senior Adviser of Strategic Outreach at the DCCC, working on a number of issues at the nexus of politics, diversity, equity, and inclusion. He holds a BA in Mathematics from Bard College.

Michael Tibbetts

Associate Professor of Biology

Mike Tibbetts came to Bard College’s Annandale Campus in 1992 as an Associate Professor of Biology. In his 32 years at Annandale his primary teaching responsibilities have been in courses relating to Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology. In addition, he has team-taught courses in: Bioethics, Biophysics, and The Environment and Disease. Mike taught his first class for the Bard Prison Initiative in 2004, Human Genetics. Since then, he has offered courses to BPI students at every level of the biology curriculum, across 5 correctional facilities. With a colleague from the Annandale campus, Mike has designed two tracks for BPI students who are interested in biology, a concentration and a second focus (minor). In addition, he offers courses for students interested in BPI’s Public Health Certificate program. Mike was also involved in developing the most recent curriculum for Bard’s Citizen Science course. This is an intensive course focused on providing tools for citizens to engage with science. It is a graduation requirement for all Bard students, including BPI students. He regularly teaches the course, which for BPI students, currently focuses on Infectious Disease.

Jed Tucker

Senior Advisor for Reentry & Alumni Engagement

Jed B. Tucker is founding and current Director of Reentry & Research Scholar at the Bard Prison Initiative. A member of the BPI faculty since 2003, Tucker is an anthropologist who has researched, written, and lectured about college-in-prison and its effects post-release. His publications include an article in the Journal of African American History titled, “Malcolm X, the Prison Years: The Relentless Pursuit of Formal Education” (2017). He previously taught anthropology on the main campus of Bard College and at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Tucker holds a Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from Teachers College, Columbia University; an M.A. in Anthropology from Columbia University; and a B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Robert Tynes

Director of College-in-Prison Operations; Site Director at Eastern NY Correctional Facility

Robert Tynes is BPI’s Director of College-in-Prison Operations and a member of the faculty. He is a political scientist whose research focuses on child soldiers, African politics, online activism, hate as a political dynamic, and the effects of college-in-prison. He is also a faculty member of the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Bard. His book, Tools of War, Tools of State, examines how governments and opposing forces utilize children as a tactical innovation in conflict. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from SUNY-Albany, an M.A. from the University of Washington, and a B.F.A. from New York University.

Nikko Vaughn ’15

Associate Director of Education and Professional Advancement

Nikko Vaughn is Associate Director of Education and Professional Advancement. In this role, he oversees and manages programs and activities related to students and alumni pursuing higher education and their chosen career in New York City and beyond. In addition, Nikko holds a joint position with the CUNY Baccalaureate for Interdisciplinary Studies (CUNY BA) at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he ensures a holistic approach to college counseling, helping students navigate the admissions process. To date, Nikko’s efforts have resulted in over 80 students completing their undergraduate, graduate, and professional education. Before this role, Nikko was BPI’s first TASC Teaching Fellow and helped to launch the BPI-TASC college prep program. Nikko earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Theory and History with significant coursework in advanced mathematics from Bard College. His senior project is on African American political activism was entitled The Formulation of a Black Polis: The Reimagining and Remobilization of Black Political Power.

Amanda Vladick

Site Director at Green Haven and Taconic

Amanda M. Vladick has been teaching writing classes with BPI since 2009 and has been a site director since 2011. She currently directs the campus at Green Haven Correctional Facility.

Pamela J. Wallace ’87

Site Director, Coxsackie Correctional Facility

Pamela J Wallace started teaching with BPI in the Fall of 2012, and the following year she joined the team as the BPI Site Director at Coxsackie Correctional Facility. She teaches Drawing and Art History, and is the Academic Advisor to the cohort at Coxsackie. An artist as well as an educator, Pamela shows her work nationally and keeps up a regular studio practice. She previously taught at SUNY New Paltz, Mount Holyoke College, Columbia Greene Community College, and Dutchess Community College. A former Bard student herself, she earned her B.A. focusing in Sculpture, and holds an M.F.A. from SIU Carbondale.

Ashanti Wilkins ’25

Served over 22 years in prison. 

Entered BPI in 2018 while in Green Haven Correctional Facility 

Graduated with an associate degree in 2021

Completed all pedagogy and education and public health specialization courses

Became a Writing Fellow in 2021

Became the Administrative Clerk for BPI in Woodbourne Correctional Facility in 2021

Completed Senior Project in December 2024 with an “A” and 3.87 GPA

Released from custody January 16th, 2025.

Shawn Young ’19


Project Lead, Upstate Reentry and Capital Region Initiative

Shawn Young is the Co-founder of All Of Us Community Action Group, a Black-led grassroots organization and the Upstate Reentry Coordinator for Bard Prison Initiative(BPI), a program of Bard College that provides college education to people in prison and offers a network of support upon their return to the community. Shawn’s experience includes community organizing, activism, and advocacy. Currently, Shawn is an integral member of the community leadership of the Greater Capital Region, which demands that Black Lives Matter, and calls for an end to police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. As the co-founder of All Of Us, Shawn has led civil actions, community conversations, and facilitated the leadership development of young people throughout the Capital Region.