Barbara Martinsons

Barbara was studying sociology in a graduate program when she was asked to teach the subject in a new college program at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in upstate New York, through Marymount Manhattan College. She learned a great deal from the students as she helped them navigate the challenges of life after prison, and particularly of getting a college education. These experiences led her to found the College & Community Fellowship. Having grown up believing that the court system was an avenue to justice, when she was a witness to mass incarceration, she realized this wasn’t always true and wanted her students to be able to have their stories and voices heard.