About Us

We believe

We believe prison inmates are not disposable—rather, they are redeemable.

We believe that the warehousing of prisoners—storing them without doing anything to truly help them—hurts both inmates and society. 95% of prison inmates will eventually return to society. Consequently, we believe the purpose of prison should be to maximize rehabilitation and prepare prisoners to be successful citizens and good neighbors.

We believe the task at hand is both vital and urgent. And we need everyone’s help to accomplish it. We believe community involvement sends an essential message to prisoners—it lets them know society cares.

We believe education is the answer to incarceration. The mission of PrisonEd is to provide no-cost college-prep and job-prep opportunities to Utah prison inmates so they have the skills to return to society prepared to make a difference for the better.

We give hope

Prison education does more than just benefit society. It gives hope to those who desperately need it.

“I have a long time to do in prison, yet I am determined to keep from becoming institutionalized, or criminally minded. I want to leave here a better person than the man I was when I entered. The only way I can do that is through educational and vocational classes. [Programs like this] give me hope. Many of us share a worst fear that we will not be able to make a good transition back into society, and therefore returning to prison, but you are giving us hope. Without help from the outside we are all but helpless.” -P.D

Who we are

Directors

Donald L. Wright, Ph.D.—President of PrisonEd, educator, author

John C. Kimball, M.P.A.—CEO of Kimball Equipment Company

Vilja Johnson, M.A.—copy director, former University English instructor

Advisory Board

Rocky Anderson—former mayor of Salt Lake City, political activist

Jan Booth, M.S.—adjunct faculty UVU, mental health specialization

Chris Cannon—former US congressman from Utah, head of Cannon Industries

Joshua Dobbin—programmer, systems architect

Jake Garn—former Salt Lake City Mayor, US Senator from Utah, astronaut

Sara Wilkinson-Lamb, M.A.H.—educational consultant

Dallin Morrow, J.D.—attorney

Dick Nourse—long-time television news anchor

Carol Lynn Pearson, M.A.—author, playwright, social advocate

Kenneth C. Rodgers, Ph.D.—clinical psychologist

Sandy McGunigall-Smith, Ph.D.—associate professor of behavioral science at UVU

Endnotes

Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Reentry Trends in the U.S.”