BPI Summer Residency

Delia Mellis ’86


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).

Rebecca Swanberg ’14

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.

Robert Tynes

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.

Delia Mellis ’86


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).

Jessica Neptune ’02


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.

Amy Cox Hall

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.

Megan Callaghan

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.

Amy Cox Hall

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.

Demetrius James ’17

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.

Dyjuan Tatro ’18

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.

Nikko Vaughn ’15

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.

Shawn Young ’19


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.

Shahein Clay ’17

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.

Hannah Henry ’19

Hannah Henry is the Institutional Research Manager at the Bard Prison Initiative, where she has worked since 2019 in roles including Academic Advisor for Biology and Site Coordinator. In her current role, she works with institutional and external reporting across BPI and assists with financial aid processes. She holds a B.A. in Biology and Public Health from Bard College.

Michael Tibbetts

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.

Shahein Clay ’17

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.

John Henson ’21

John Henson is a 2021 graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative. He was released in 2022 after serving 25 years in New York State Correctional Facilities. While incarcerated, John was one of the first hospice aides to sit with terminally ill incarcerated men, which he continued to do for sixteen years. His senior project focused on Canada’s Indian Residential Schools and served as the lens to understanding historic trauma and potential paths towards healing. John was a fellow in Bard College’s Public Health Fellowship where he focused on the development of a mentorship program between formerly incarcerated individuals and military personnel. John is currently the facility manager for New Life Providence Church where he is able to use his passion to help others through serving the church and the various community outreaches the church supports. John lives in Virginia with his wife and daughters and enjoys spending time with his family and being a girl dad.

Yohan Perez ’25

Patrice Perkins

Shawn Young ’19


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.

John Henson ’21

John Henson is a 2021 graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative. He was released in 2022 after serving 25 years in New York State Correctional Facilities. While incarcerated, John was one of the first hospice aides to sit with terminally ill incarcerated men, which he continued to do for sixteen years. His senior project focused on Canada’s Indian Residential Schools and served as the lens to understanding historic trauma and potential paths towards healing. John was a fellow in Bard College’s Public Health Fellowship where he focused on the development of a mentorship program between formerly incarcerated individuals and military personnel. John is currently the facility manager for New Life Providence Church where he is able to use his passion to help others through serving the church and the various community outreaches the church supports. John lives in Virginia with his wife and daughters and enjoys spending time with his family and being a girl dad.

Demetrius James ’17

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.

Jeffrey Jurgens

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.

Shahein Clay ’17

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

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.

Sayra Havranek

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.

Kate Cox

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.

Kate Cox

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.

Jessica Neptune ’02


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.

Max Kenner ’01


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.

Jessica Neptune ’02


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.

Claysaun Jones ’21

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

Sonia Padilla

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.

Nikko Vaughn ’15

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.

Shawn Young ’19


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.

TaNasha Williams