New England
Prison Education Collaborative
Bi-Monthly Newsletter
| | December 18, 2025 | Issue No. 8 | | |
1. State Strategic Planning
- New Hampshire
- Maine
2. Inaugural NEPEC White Paper
3. The 2026 NEPEC Acceleration Summit
4. NEPEC Presents at Western Mass CORE's Unlocking Pathways Working
Group on Credit Mobility
5. NEPEC Attends the University of New Haven and Yale Prison Education
Initiative Graduation Ceremony at MacDougall-Walker Correctional
Institution
6. NEPEC Attends Ascendium Learning Community Kickoff Convening
7. Job Opportunity: Stakeholder Engagement Specialist, NEPEC
8. NEPEC Quarterly Workshop Series
9. Upcoming Events and Opportunities
10. Staying Connected
| | State Strategic Planning Updates | | |
New Hampshire
As the year-long state strategic planning work nears completion in New Hampshire, members of the Corrections Education and Vocational Planning Group (CEVPG) are working to finalize the goals and related deliverables for thethree-year strategic plan they are producing, which captures this cross-state-agency, cross-sector group’s commitment to expanding postsecondary programming in prisons in the Granite State.
To advance the finalization of goals for the plan, the November CEVPG meeting featured full group discussions and targeted breakout sessions that were dedicated to leveraging the ideas generated thus far to narrow down a few goals for each of the four topical focus areas that will anchor the strategic plan: (1) technology and infrastructure, (2) budgeting, policies, and advocacy, (3) higher education programs, and (4) adult basic education, career and technical education, and employment.
The final strategic plan will be launched at our Acceleration Summit on February 5, 2026.
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Maine
In October 2025, Maine became the second state to engage in a cross-agency, cross-stakeholder planning process with NEPEC’s support. To accomplish this work, we are partnering with Unlocked Labs and the Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC) on a just-in-time version of the year-long state strategic planning process that is currently wrapping up in New Hampshire. This accelerated five-month process will focus on building a secure, sustainable technical infrastructure to advance the department’s education and rehabilitation goals—laying the groundwork for long-term impact across the state.
In close collaboration with the MDOC, Unlocked Labs’s work will occur over two phases: (1) they will conduct a current state assessment of what's working as it is currently configured, and then (2) produce a strategic plan with recommendations for building upon the department’s existing strengths.
| | Sarah is pictured with Mark Spahr, Director of Education Technology at Maine Department of Corrections, taking part in an Unlocked Labs facilitated activity with the stakeholders that NEBHE helped assemble on October 30, 2025. | | |
Throughout the process, NEPEC will support the engagement of strategic partners for input from higher education leadership and program providers to relevant state agencies beyond Corrections as well as state legislators.
To kick off this work, NEPEC Director Sarah Kuczynski and the team from Unlocked Labs convened more than two dozen stakeholders with representation from state agencies and higher education institutions. The convening, which took place on Thursday, October 30, in Augusta, marks the first phase of cross-sector collaboration occurring in the state. The evening before, Sarah and some team members from Unlocked had the opportunity to sit in on a course on app development at the Southern Maine Women’s Reentry Center in collaboration with the Center for Effective Public Policy and Washington County Community College. In the week leading up to the convening, Unlocked Labs was on-site to meet with residents and staff at all levels of the facility.
This work, supported through NEPEC's state strategic planning funds, will culminate at the end of February 2026 with the publication of a statewide strategic plan. The NEPEC team is proud to be working alongside Unlocked Labs and the Maine Department of Corrections in this important effort. Stay tuned for updates as the collaboration continues.
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From left to right: Jessica Hicklin (Unlocked Labs), Lisa Haffenreffer (Unlocked Labs), Rosa Mayer (Unlocked Labs), and Daniel McGloin (University of Maine at Augusta).
Pictured outside Maine State Prison in Warren, ME while the Unlocked Labs team was on the ground in Maine to kickoff their current assessment work that NEPEC is supporting.
| | Inaugural NEPEC White Paper | | |
In August 2025, after awards went out to the inaugural Accelerator Grantees, the Higher Education Working Group (HEWG) turned their attention to NEPEC’s first white paper. As we have mentioned in previous issues of this newsletter, the HEWG members shape NEPEC’s engagement with colleges and universities, informing what is emphasized in key deliverables, such as the Request for Proposal for each year’s Accelerator Grants and a series of publications the NEPEC team has committed to releasing over the course of the five-year initiative.
The forthcoming white paper, the first such publication, will spotlight common reentry challenges—related to both educational continuity and student basic needs—with a focus on the scope of higher education programs and the strategies that higher education institutions across New England are employing to tackle such barriers. Over the last two months, NEPEC Project Manager Zeia Fawaz has conducted desk research as well as semi-structured interviews and focus groups to inform a detailed analysis of the current practices and strategies being used in New England.
The paper also spotlights select national perspectives from programs whose unique and well-rounded approaches to reentry serve to distinguish them in the field. While the target audience is higher education providers in the region, we anticipate that this publication will be valuable to other stakeholders as well, including legislators, community-based organizations, and advocates.
Throughout the month of December, the NEPEC team will engage various stakeholders, including the HEWG, the Regional Advisory Council, and research participants, to gather their feedback on the publication. The white paper will be released in a limited print run in February 2026 at the NEPEC Acceleration Summit and will be made available digitally later that month.
| | The 2026 NEPEC Acceleration Summit | | |
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We are pleased to announce the upcoming NEPEC Acceleration Summit, which will be held on Thursday, February 5, 2026 at the Bedford Village Inn and Grand Boutique Hotel in Bedford, New Hampshire. The summit will serve as an opportunity to reflect on the progress made in NEPEC’s first full year of activities and set the stage for what comes next.
The evening will feature dinner, drinks, and time for connection, along with a formal program that will include dynamic panel discussions, special recognition of NEPEC’s grantees and working groups, the release of NEPEC’s first white paper, and the announcement of the states that will be participating in the second cycle of NEPEC’s state strategic planning process.
Earlier in the day on Thursday, there will be working sessions for the Accelerator Grant recipients and participants in the state strategic planning process, providing an opportunity for individuals from across the region to meet in person, strengthen connections, and advance collaborative efforts.
Official invitations for the summit went out earlier this week to regional partners, colleagues, legislators, and stakeholders. For those who received an invitation and plan to attend, please remember to complete the RSVP form.
Stay tuned for additional updates about the Acceleration Summit on the NEPEC LinkedIn page and look for a full event recap in the February 2026 edition of the NEPEC newsletter.
| | NEPEC Presents at Western Mass CORE's Unlocking Pathways Working Group on Credit Mobility | | |
On Tuesday, December 2, NEPEC Director Sarah Kuczynski participated in Western Mass CORE’s Unlocking Pathways working group, offering a presentation on credit transfer and mobility. The meeting was converted from an in-person convening at Smith College to a virtual one due to the winter storm affecting Western Massachusetts.
Western Mass CORE works to expand educational access for system-impacted individuals in Western Massachusetts. With support from Ascendium Education Philanthropy, CORE was able to launch Unlocking Pathways in September of this year. This initiative works to develop a coordinated jail-to-college ecosystem across Western Massachusetts through five working groups, a Regional Advisory Council, and Student Advisory Council.
The credit transfer and mobility working group, includes stakeholders from Amherst College, Collective Power, Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, Holyoke Community College, and Springfield Technical Community College. The objective for the meeting on December 2 was to create a shared understanding of the current landscape of inside coursework and to begin identifying where Western Massachusetts credit transfer processes can align to better support system-impacted learners.
To that end, Sarah was invited to present on the importance of credit mobility and transferability in supporting incarcerated learners as they pursue their education. Sarah’s remarks provided her with the opportunity to bridge the previous emphasis of her work at NEBHE on implementation of the New England Transfer Guarantee and her more recent focus on correctional education as the director of NEPEC.
| | NEPEC Attends the University of New Haven and Yale Prison Education Initiative Graduation Ceremony at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution | | |
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Last month, NEPEC Director Sarah Kuczynski attended the University of New Haven Prison Education Program and Yale Prison Education Initiative’s third commencement ceremony at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, CT. The program, which was founded in 2016, had initially begun as an offering of the Yale Prison Education Initiative (YPEI) at Dwight Hall until 2021, when the University of New Haven joined the program, thereby adding the option for students to matriculate in two and four-year degrees. The program has served over 150 incarcerated students since its inception.
“[Education] not only gives us the tools and knowledge to make sure we get home, but make sure we never come back.” –Ricky, UNH-YPEI Graduate
The ceremony, which took place on November 19, featured a commencement address from Representative Gregg Haddad who introduced a bill—that has since been passed into law under Public Act 24-81—which mandated that the Office of Policy and Management’s Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division conduct a needs assessment to determine the unmet demand for higher education in prison and determine the resources available and required for the delivery of a robust ecosystem of postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities, including space and staffing.
| “Your success will inspire others to pick up a book, to enroll in a class, to believe in their own potential.” – Representative Gregg Haddad, CT Legislature | | |
Zelda Roland, Founding Director of YPEI and UNH’s Prison Education Program, and Vanessa Estimé, the program’s Deputy Director, presented prizes and honors to the graduates—all of whom earned honors or high honors. The event also featured remarks from Daniel Karpowitz, Undersecretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, State of Connecticut; James Jeter, Co-Founder and Director, Full Citizen Coalition; and Deputy Commissioner William Mulligan, CT DOC. After the ceremony concluded, the graduates mingled with their family and friends over a rare shared meal — an especially poignant moment, as it came the week before Thanksgiving.
“Getting to this point required every one of us to say no to a lot, and yes to a few things... I said yes to the opportunity to redeem myself... We said yes to finding a way to be more than our worst decisions.” – Francis, UNH-YPEI Graduate.
| | Left to right: Sarah Kuczynski, Representative Gregg Haddad, Undersecretary Daniel Karpowitz, Zelda Roland, and Brittany LaMarr (Office of Policy and Management’s Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division). | | Sarah was grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the momentous achievement of the graduates, who each delivered powerful remarks. Graduation ceremonies are a wonderful opportunity to connect with the individuals who NEPEC is ultimately seeking to serve through our cross-state and cross-agency work. As a team that works at the regional, state, and institutional levels, it is invaluable to be able to connect with individual students and ground ourselves in the day-to-day realities of the on-the-ground-work in this way. | | NEPEC Attends Ascendium Learning Community Kickoff Convening | |
On November 6–7, Sarah and Zeia attended the Statewide Higher Education in Prison Collaboration Learning Community for Ascendium Education Group grantees in Albany, NY. The two-day convening was highly interactive, bringing attendees together in facilitated breakout sessions to dig into some of the most pressing adaptive challenges facing learning community members. The event featured brief presentations from each statewide initiative in attendance, providing other learning community members with an opportunity to learn more about one another’s efforts.
As the event was held at one of the State University of New York’s (SUNY) campuses, learning community members also had the opportunity to hear more about SUNY’s data sharing practices, transfer pathways, and the facilities they serve. SUNY system leadership spoke on a panel that opened with a pre-recorded message from Chancellor John B. King, underscoring his strong commitment to the SUNY Office of Higher Education in Prison and the broader field.
Beyond the formal programming, Ascendium organized a networking dinner, where Sarah and Zeia enjoyed the opportunity to connect with new and familiar faces working on mission-aligned initiatives. The convening concluded on Friday with a collaborative session focused on defining the learning community's purpose and determining how it can best support the statewide initiatives who are involved.
| Job Opportunity: Stakeholder Engagement Specialist, NEPEC | |
The NEPEC team is seeking a Stakeholder Engagement Specialist to support the activities of the New England Prison Education Collaborative. This new hire will report to NEPEC’s Director and will collaborate with the Director to support successful cross-state agency, cross-sector planning work in four New England states over the next two years. The person who assumes this role will also co-lead relationship development and management with state legislators and state agency stakeholders to support NEPEC state planning efforts as well as the initiative’s success more broadly.
We encourage you to share the job listing with others in your professional and personal networks. Please note that the New England Board of Higher Education is a fair chance employer and strongly encourages individuals with lived experience in the criminal legal system to apply.
To read the full position description, please click here.
| NEPEC Quarterly Workshop Series | | |
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The NEPEC team hosted the fourth installment of our quarterly virtual workshop series on December 17, 2025, entitled “Navigating the PEP Approval process: Forming Best Interest Determination (BID) Stakeholder Groups.” This workshop focused on how to form effective Best Interest Determination (BID) groups to support correctional oversight entities in evaluating the Prison Education Programs (PEPs) that are operating instate facilities.
The NEPEC team was honored to have four esteemed higher education in prison experts as panelists: Ruth Delaney, Initiative Director of Unlocking Potential at the Vera Institute of Justice; Tyler Stoldt, Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Services at Washington County Community College; Laura Rodas, Director of Education, Staff Development & Training at the Maine Department of Corrections; and Thom Anderson, Post-Secondary Education Program Coordinator, Vermont Department of Corrections. Each panelist shared key insights related to the BID process.
After opening remarks from NEPEC Project Coordinator Quinn Barton, Ruth Delaney kicked off the afternoon’s programming by giving an overview of the federal regulation that established the BID and its importance in the PEP approval process. From there, Tyler Stoldt and Laura Rodas delivered a joint presentation on their work developing the Best Interest Determination policy for the state of Maine. Tyler spoke about Washington County Community College’s experience with the NECHE accreditation process for PEP approval and their collaboration with the Maine Department of Corrections on BID. Laura then outlined the Department’s ongoing work to finalize the BID policy from a corrections standpoint.
Thom Anderson closed out the series of presentations with an exploration of the Vermont Department of Correction’s collaboration with the Community College of Vermont to develop the state’s BID policy. Thom outlined Vermont’s current priorities, including extending invitations to the stakeholders whose representation is required on the stakeholder input group for BID groups.
Thank you to everyone who joined. The workshop recording, slide deck, and post-event resources shared by presenters are accessible via the links below. We look forward to seeing everyone in March 2026 for our next virtual workshop. Stay tuned for details and registration information in the new year.
| | | |  | | Upcoming Events and Opportunities | | |
NEPEC Quarterly Workshops
March 25, 2026 | Topic - In Development
Follow us on LinkedIn to stay updated!
NEPEC Acceleration Summit
February 5, 2026 | Bedford Village Inn and Grand Boutique Hotel
RSVP by December 29, 2025 via the link in the inviation.
NEPEC on the Road
National Conference on Higher Education in Prison*
April 9-10, 2026 | Cleveland, OH
*NEPEC team members will be speaking on two panels. Stay tuned for further information on the presentations.
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Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we work to make higher education accessible to all learners who are incarcerated in New England. We look forward to keeping you informed and engaged in our shared mission.
Best regards,
The NEPEC Team
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ABOUT NEPEC:
The New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC) is a regional initiative led by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). In February 2024, NEBHE was awarded five years of grant funding from Ascendium Education Group to establish the Collaborative to build upon the recommendations of the 2023 New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison, a nine-month regional convening of leaders from across multiple sectors aimed at preparing the region for the reinstatement of federal Pell Grants for all currently incarcerated learners.
Through this initiative, NEBHE seeks to accelerate, support, and collaborate to help create a future where every incarcerated person in New England has access to high-quality, workforce-aligned, equitable postsecondary opportunities with a diverse range of educational pathways.
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