Warden Ron Davis

Prison University Project wins ethics debate

March 20, 2018 by Juan Haines

Kyle Robertson moderating the debate

A team of philosophy students from University of California at Santa Cruz ventured inside San Quentin on Feb. 13 for an ethics debate against inmates from the prison’s college program.

Nearly 100 people sat in the audience, including fellow inmates, more than a dozen volunteer teachers from the Prison University Project (PUP, also known as Patten College), Deputy Warden Ron Broomfield and Warden Ron Davis.

“According to a RAND analysis, every $1 invested in such [inmate] education generates at least $4 in economic return,” reports Fast Company.

“The state typically spends $71,000 a year to house an inmate. It costs about $5,000 total to help put one [incarcerated] student through community college”, reports Fast Company.

acknowledged the volunteers and their contribution to public safety.

“As a warden, who comes from a security background, when we held a TEDx a couple years ago, the lights went out and the lieutenant governor was in the audience. I couldn’t relax. I didn’t sit down,” Davis said. “But, now I understand the impact of having volunteers come in to give their time for programs that add to public safety. I’m appreciative and proud to see rehabilitation first-hand.”

Warden R. Davis watching the event with the audience

In addition to providing higher education to incarcerated people at San Quentin, PUP brings awareness about the need to expand access to higher education to more prisons as well as the need for criminal justice reform.

“Teaching here isn’t that different,” said moderator Kyle Robertson about his experience teaching at UC Santa Cruz and the Prison University Project, adding, “UC students can access information easily, where incarcerated students can’t, but are just as inquisitive.”

The debate topics were: assessing the mental stability of government officials and the social impact of building a wall to separate Palestinians on the West Bank from Israel.

Judging were Sandra Dreisbach, Robert Ladenson and Kareem Weaver.

The debate used a format invented by Ladenson in 1996, called The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (IEB). The IEB has grown into an annual national event with more than 200 universities fielding teams. The top 32 teams, determined by a set of regional around the country, compete at the nation every year.

IEB is one kind of event that UC Santa Cruz’s philosophy department organizes to “foster more thoughtful and engaged communities of thinkers, doers and change makers.”

Audience member questioning PUP Debate team

The San Quentin team consisted of Forrest Jones, Nelson Butler, Wayne Boatwright, Angel Falcone and Randy Akins.

“I always wanted to leave prison with a college education,” Akins said. “I want to go out a better person than when I came in. I have to study every day to keep up. I’ve been doing it for two years, so I’m entrenched into it. When the ethics bowl came up, it was my dream. At least I believe it is, to expand my horizon.” He added, “I would like to educate myself in life until I earn my Ph.D. and be called Dr. Akins.”

Akins has been at San Quentin for three years. He is serving a life term with the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to appear before the parole board sometime in 2019; however, recent changes in law may allow him to appear this summer.

UC Santa Cruz Team trying to figure out their solutions to win

The UC Santa Cruz Team consisted of philosophy students Marlo Eslao, Anna Feygin, Pedro Enriquez, Carissa Chu, Emma Hair, and Pablo Fitten.

The debate on the mental stability of government officials focused on the Goldwater rule.

The Goldwater rule forbids psychiatrists from assessing public officials whom they have not personally interviewed.

“Should we change the Goldwater rule and if so, how?”

After the UC students brought up the mental stability of President Donald J. Trump, the inmates replied that Trump is democratically elected. Furthermore, if the public wanted him out, they’d go to the polls in the next election and choose a different president. They also claimed that changing the rule would politicize psychiatry and that the American Psychiatric Association instituted the rule. Finally, the inmates said that nothing precludes congress from setting limits on presidential powers.

The Santa Cruz students responded that for the sake of openness, psychiatrists should be able to give their expert opinion more freely.

They argued that Trump is an exceptional case, so he should be treated exceptionally.

During the intermission, several of the outside guests agreed that the inmates came out better in the first part of the debate and that their argument was clearer. The guests thought that because the inmates are older, they have a better grasp on the issue.

Jessie Rothman discussing the event with the guest

After intermission, the Santa Cruz students proposed that divestment from companies that do business with Israel is an ethical way to seek a nonviolent solution to something “the world recognizes as illegal,” referring to the wall that separates Palestinians on the West Bank from Israel.

They argued that it is wrong for a country to profit from oppression and that the sanctions are aimed at bringing awareness to the problem. The key is that it is a nonviolent means of protest, the students argued.

According to the students, it’s not an anti-Semitic argument. It is an anti-oppression action. The movement is not targeted at individuals, but institutions and companies. The students seek to recognize human rights under international law for the Palestinians.

Sanctions and boycotts inspire people to do something against corporations that profit from oppression. It allows people to understand the power that corporations have over people, they agreed.

The PUP students replied by asking for the reason for building the wall and suggested that the wall was built because the actions of Hezbollah. They also questioned that economics could solve a political problem.

The UC students stated that democracy is absent in the West Bank, and it’s not a free and fair society—that the economic and political factors are the same. The UC students cited Israel’s history of ethnic cleansing. “Human rights come first, national rights come second,” one of the UC students said. “Israel is doing the same thing as other colonizing nations have done, like in South America.”

Weaver questioned the UC students about the passive violence from boycotts and sanctions and that “any unjust barrier creates harm.”

The final score cards from judge Sandra Dreisbach read SQ 54 UC 51; Robert Ladenson, SQ 51 UC 46; and Kareem Weaver, SQ 52 UC 41.

www.prisonuniversityproject.org
Watch 6 minute video clip at vimeo.com
Read UC Santa Cruz Story at reports.news
http://sanquentinnews.com/game-theory/

Exclusive screening ‘From Incarceration to Education’

http://sanquentinnews.com/path-criminal-justice-takes-educational-turn/

Prison’s newspaper celebrates 100th edition

March 19, 2018 by Eddie

Supporters, volunteers and advisors honored for their contributions to and for the SQ News

When the San Quentin News was revived nearly 10 years ago, a staff of five put together a four-page issue and distributed it to 5,000 inmates inside the prison.

Today, the newspaper has a circulation of 30,000, distributed across 36 prisons across the state as well as to individual inmates in 43 states. In addition to news stories and features, the paper includes a crossword puzzle, cartoon, book reviews and columns.

Steve and Kay McNamara’s family

San Quentin News staff, volunteers and supporters in and outside of the prison celebrated the publication of its 100^th issue in a sun-drenched hall at the Protestant Chapel in late January.

The pews were removed for the evening and replaced with small tables, decorated with shiny, gold and blue centerpieces. Outside guests and friends of San Quentin News mingled with blue uniform-clad inmates and prison officials. More than 200 guests attended the event.

Editor-in-Chief Richard “Bonaru” Richardson opened the event by honoring Warden Ron Davis with a plaque for his support of the newspaper.

Richard “Bonaru” Richardson

The warden shared a story of how he had visited the newsroom during his first week on the job three years ago, and the staff had spoken to him about wanting their newspaper to be distributed in every prison in California.

A short while later after attending a wardens’ meeting, he convinced the other wardens to allow the paper inside their prisons.

Richardson told a story of a childhood bereft of love and a criminal history that began when he was just 10 years old.

“Today, as I stand before you as editor-in-chief of a newspaper that so many people are invested in, I am humbled,” he said. “I am humbled because every story, every achievement, every milestone, every accomplishment, every step the San Quentin News makes is because of you.”

Michael Bott, Kate Wolffe and Yukari Kane watching the event

Michael Bott, Kate Wolffe and Yukari Kane in attendance

Television staff member Eric Phillips also spoke about what his involvement with the newspaper has meant to him. “We never thought that we could be here,” he said. “It shows that we can go anywhere.”

According to a presentation by Associate Editor Kevin D. Sawyer, the paper first began in the 1920s as a newsletter under the name Wall City News. It got shut down once in the mid-1930s and then again in the mid-1980s when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoner-run newspapers could not be censored by prison administrations.

In April 2008, then-warden Robert Ayers Jr. decided to take a chance and revive the newspaper because he saw the benefit of inmates sharing information. In the last decade alone, the paper has survived numerous challenges including the print shop shutting down, limited funding, a 45-day suspension, and tight deadlines to work around lockdowns.

Lisa Adams

Sawyer also spoke about the advisers, donors, volunteers and fellow prison media, who helped the staff reach the milestone. In 2014, the San Quentin News won the James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, which the staff belong to. “We’ve become, in effect, a professional journalism organization,” Sawyer said.

Some of the men, who have worked for the newspaper, have gone onto be criminal justice advocates after their release. The crowd applauded when Sawyer spoke about the zero percent recidivism rate of former staffers.

Marcus Henderson

The joy in the room, however, was also accompanied by an undertone of grief as the community mourned the absence of former editor-in-chief Arnulfo T. Garcia, who died in a car accident last September. Garcia’s family represented him at the ceremony.

“He would want us to move forward and I will move forward with him with me,” Richardson said after a tribute video was shown in his memory.

Nick Garcia, Angela Seven, Arturo Garcia and Carmelita Vargas

During the ceremony, former warden Ayers challenged the staff to be a news agency of integrity that challenges the status quo and changes the prison mentality in addition to the public’s perception of criminal justice. “A medium like the San Quentin News can be a conduit for change,” he said.

Jesse Vasques

Managing Editor Jesse Vasquez shared plans for upcoming projects such as a forum with law enforcement, a newsletter for the juvenile justice system, and a program to bring awareness to prison culture.

Artist Bruce Fowler

In an interview after the event, Marisa Rodriguez, assistant district attorney and director of community relations for San Francisco County, expressed a desire to further strengthen the relationship between the district attorney’s office and the people incarcerated in the state. San Francisco district attorney George Gascón had been one of the first to participate in the district attorney’s forum started by Garcia in 2012.

“We want to continue the dialogue so the criminal justice system is working not only for society, but also for those affected by it,” said Rodriguez.

Also in attendance was Richard Alden Feldon, the director of programs and a board member for the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.“We empower world-changing work, and we think San Quentin News is a world-changing newspaper,” said Feldon.

With a $250,000 grant given by the Reva and David Logan Foundation to the San Quentin News over the past two years, San Quentin News was able to plan its long-term vision and expansion plans.

“According to a RAND analysis, every $1 invested in such [inmate] education generates at least $4 in economic return,” reports Fast Company.

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Prison to Employment Connection job readiness event

January 18, 2018 by Kevin Sawyer

Jesse Gomez speaks with potential employers as Dianna Williams and Dwight Kennedy watch

The Prison to Employment Connection (PEC) program hosted its sixth job readiness event at San Quentin State Prison, allowing dozens of inmates, employers, unions, apprenticeship programs and career path organizations to meet face-to-face.

Warden Ron Davis welcomed the employers and organizations, thanking them for their time. “At the end of the year, I’ll have been warden three years,” he said. “It never ceases to amaze me the events that happen here. The stuff you guys do here doesn’t happen in other places.”

Diana Williams, executive director of PEC, said, “Forty-seven (inmates) signed up, 36 made it through. They spent the last 11 weeks reading for this program. They created a packet of success. They learned about financial literacy. They’re ready to go.”

This graduating class had a few unusual guest learners from the prison’s Youth Offender Program (YOP). Williams discussed how important it was for the YOPs to attend, “so they’re not sitting here in 20 years,” she said, acknowledging DeShante Jones, David Rodriquez, Darnell Stewart and Jesse Gomez.

“This is my first time going through anything like this,” said Jones, a YOP inmate. “I got the chance to experience things at San Quentin that I never had.”

The guests and older inmates in attendance applauded the YOPs. “Jesse (Gomez), you’re the only YOP who met the criteria, showed up, did the work and completed,” Williams said.

“This program was phenomenal,” Gomez, 20, said to the audience. “I experienced something in here I never experienced anywhere else.” This is his first time in prison. He’s been incarcerated two years and will parole in a year. He’s also enrolled in a GED class.

More than 100 inmates have graduated from the program since its inception two and a half years ago, and the number of inmate participants and outside guests is steadily growing.

More than 30 employers and representatives from various support organizations came in to take part in assisting inmates with reentry.

“All I need is a strong work ethic and positive attitude, and I can teach you the rest,” said Jack Bronkie of Cala Restaurant.

“I love it,” said Lonnie Tuck, from the Center for Employment Opportunity. “I met a few gentlemen who’ve graduated and it’s good to see they’re doing well. Those who take advantage of programs like this are ready, so it makes my job easy. I wish more facilities had programs like this.”

“There are over 4,800 legal restrictions facing people with convictions after sentence completion…73% of these legal barriers are permanent.” “SAFE AND SOUND: …” by Californians For Safety and Justice Nov. 2017

Ellery Graves of Lao Family Community Development, Inc., said her organization provides case management, job coaching, and training. She heard about PEC through an email and said she’s grateful to be here and meet people ready for the next step. “I work with a lot of employers,” Graves said. “I try to be a match-maker, the in between. There are a lot of employers ready to hire.”

Williams said recidivism at one time was more than 50 percent but has lowered in recent years, usually due to employment. “We create partnerships,” she said. “I believe these connections make all the difference.”

“If they’re going out they need to get jobs,” said Associate Warden Samara. “That’s a good idea.”

“I’m a three-striker and I’ve paroled twice before, to a park bench,” said James Norton, 49. “Now I have an opportunity to parole to a house, which is cool. I go to the Board (of Parole Hearings) in three weeks. Even if I don’t get a (parole) date, I’ll help facilitate the next class.”

Bre Davis used to work with the California Re-entry Program and has been an on-and-off volunteer with PEC for two years. “This is the type of thinking they have to start developing to succeed,” she said about the young men in YOP.

“I support Diana (Williams) with anything she needs,” Davis said. These things include helping the men with résumés, work exercises, interviews and class assignments. Davis also works with men and women undergoing reentry and others who are on probation in Alameda County. She has a background in sociology. “I’m honored to be a part of this program,” she said. “I do it because I want to, not because I have to. I’m also learning as I go along.”

Patty Oxman is another volunteer who supports Williams. “It’s important that the program is growing,” she said. “I’m happy to be her (Williams’) grunt so she can do the important work.”

Lani Wilkins, of District Council 16 Apprenticeship Programs of Northern California, said he attended PEC a second time for “the opportunity to give back” because “some of you guys have worked hard.”

John Hesselbein interviewing with potential employer

“I would like everyone to know how rewarding it is,” said Lorna Schea, of San Francisco City College’s Culinary Hospitality Department. “Not just for the inmates but for us.” She attended PEC to promote their three programs: basic skills, one-year certificate in food technology and dining services, and a two-year degree program.

“I was contacted by an inmate who read about (PEC) in San Quentin News,” said Jennifer Rudd, also with SFCC’s culinary program.

It was the fourth appearance at PEC for Johnny Cochran, of Goodwill Industries. He said they hire people coming out of the criminal justice system. “I came because a friend of mine told me about the program and I wanted to be a part of it.”

“I like to give thanks to the brothers,” said inmate John Windham. “You stuck it out and you made it. This is what it’s all about: making connections.”

Williams has been volunteering at San Quentin for three years. She holds an M.A. in counseling psychology and is a Certified Professional Co-active Coach.

Coming back to prison to help bridge the digital divide

San Quentin News & Wall City Merchandise

Skyping with SQ’s Last Mile and DJJ

Quentin Cooks gets standing ovation from 30 wardens

November 3, 2017 by Wayne Boatwright

Allen Bros. Angus beef & potatoes

Chantilly crepe

Duck Bahn Mi

Thirty California prison wardens joined in a rare standing ovation for an extraordinary banquet prepared by inmates of the Quentin Cooks program.

“I’ve never felt so proud,” one student said.

The third graduating class, supported by graduates of the second class of the Quentin Cooks, earned this honor for catering a July 18 Wardens’ Conference luncheon with the wardens and Ralph Diaz, Undersecretary, Operations, and Kathleen Allison, Division of Adult Institutions Director of CDCR.

“Quentin Cooks is unique as it extends past the gate. This is real-world training, and all graduates get help with job placement upon completion and parole,” said Helaine Melnitzer, a co-founder of the program with Chef Lisa Dombroski.

The volunteer-driven program teaches culinary skills and practical restaurant training from instructors with real-world experience. Graduates also earn a ServSafe certification, making them “job-ready” to work for any California restaurant. H-Unit residents with an Earliest Possible Release Date (EPRD) of 6 to 36 months can take this training.

Attendees included Warden Ron Davis, Lts. Graham, Robinson and Lamberton and sponsors and potential employers of these job-ready graduates.

“The cooking was exact, with painstaking preparation and flavors that resonate”

“We played rugby with each other and Lisa told me about the program and asked me to design a logo for the program,” said Jen Humphries. The logo designer came with her husband.

“The cooking was exact, with painstaking preparation and flavors that resonate,” said one guest.

In order to introduce themselves to the guests, the graduates served the following meal they prepared:

Inmates preparing raspberry Nutella crepes

Amuse: Duck Bahn Mi (with carrot and radish garnished with cilantro on a sourdough baguette round)

The men rolled out the dish on bamboo plates. Carrying plates and wearing aprons, they served the dish to all the guests within minutes.

Spring Rolls: Filled with shrimp, peanut, pickles

The room went quiet as the spring rolls were served and everyone was enjoying the fresh rice-paper wrap stuffed with herbs, noodles and shrimp with peanut sauce.

Autumn Soup: Celery root, chestnut, apple

The broth was embellished with a garnish of green herbs.

Meat and potatoes: Allen Brothers Angus, pommes, cabbage, truffle

The presentation of the main course included a bed of mashed potatoes and braised and roasted Napa cabbage to add a crunch to the Angus.

Sweets: Nutella, berries, Chantilly

“Thank you for treating us as humans,” Jessie James Smith, a former graduate, told Melnitzer.

“We have come to understand the impact of institutionalization and how our modest program can contribute toward a positive transformation,” said Melnitzer.

With the support of fellow chef Huw Thornton, chef Lisa would come early every Monday morning and begin with a chef’s brief of the daily goals, count the weekly orders, check inventory against invoices and selecting teams to mimic a restaurant environment.

Chef Huw said all the demands of a high-energy workplace are modeled in the classes “where understanding the palate is essential, presentation a necessity and food safety a must.”

Steve Piazza serving meals to correctional officers

Chef Lisa’s employer, The Chefs Warehouse and VegiWorks Inc. provided the produce.

While most of the guests worked in the hospitality industry or managed their own restaurants, chef Lisa’s parents, aunt, sister and best friend all came from as far away as New York and North Carolina to attend the graduation.

“While her passion for the business came in her 20s, Lisa has always been there for people and willing to help,” chimed in both parents.

James “New York” Seegars from the first graduating class was welcomed back to San Quentin to tell his story of transformation from inmate to employee after serving 29 years.

“Applying what I learned in this class I’ve been working for six months (at Brodericks in Sacramento). You only get raises based on performance. I’ve had three already,” Seegars said.

He has arranged jobs for five ex-felons at his workplace including Mike Tapia, another Quentin Cooks graduate, according to Melnitzer.

Gume Cervantes has been incarcerated for 10 years. He earned his GED at Pelican Bay, but it is Quentin Cooks that has prepared him to return to the world ready to work.

“QC [Quentin Cooks] is a great program that can really change your life. While my family had a small restaurant, QC really teaches the basics on how to cook healthy and safely,” said Cervantes.

While you certainly learn to cook different styles of food, and for large groups, the most important thing Cervantes learned was to work as a team with all kinds of people, not just Latinos.

“Chef Lisa understands not just cooking, but business and how to manage a team. She really motivates me to learn something new, and I can use it on the street in a new job,” added Cervantes.

He said that his biggest challenge in the class is that “my English is not that good; my team helps me and Lisa makes sure that I can understand – she would help me with new words and I’d practice 20-30 times that same day. Es un sueño para mi.”

The certification training and testing was provided by Mike Sabella of FoodSafetyCertified.org. A wait-list already exists for the next class.

http://sanquentinnews.com/optionb-org-support-group-overcoming-effects-incarceration/

Tasty graduation for the first class Quentin Cooks

Last RISE inmate graduation for Dante Callegari

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Inmates striving to become working citizens

July 1, 2017 by Kevin.Sawyer

The dozens of employers and organizations that support rehabilitation by visiting San Quentin to interview inmates have captured the attention of the state’s top corrections official.

In May, the prison hosted its fifth Prison to Employment Connection (PEC) event in two years. This time, Scott Kernan, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), took notice.

“It was really important to be here today,” said Kernan. “It’s a very common-sense objective to get people employed.” He said Gov. Jerry Brown is making employment “a merging priority” with rehabilitation. “Giving someone a chance to earn a living wage reduces recidivism.”

San Quentin Warden Ron Davis spoke briefly, thanking the outside guests for their support and wishing the inmates “good luck.”

During the 12-week employment connection workshop, more than 35 inmates learned how to present themselves on paper with cover letters, résumés and follow-up letters. They also learned how to conduct themselves during an interview.

Jennifer Rudd from City College of San Francisco’s culinary and hospitality program said everyone was organized. “I have been incredibly impressed with the preparation the men have put into their turnaround portfolios.”

“I think it’s a good opportunity for people to learn how to interview,” said Oscar Gonzales, 46, who had been incarcerated four years. He thought he had a potential job lined up with one employer. He paroled in June.

Steve Emrick, the prison’s community partnership manager, said some men were sent to prison at a young age and don’t understand the process of getting a job. “We’re taking guys out of prison and preparing them for employment,” he said. “This really breaks down those barriers and gives them that experience.”

Inmate Patrick Fletcher striving to become a working citizen at Prison to Employment Connection in San Quentin State Prison – July 2017

Patrick Fletcher, 53, didn’t know the ins and outs of getting a job. He was incarcerated at age 19. “I didn’t attach myself to values and principles until I matured,” Fletcher said. “By then I was in prison for about 10 years.”

While incarcerated, Fletcher earned his GED, learned carpentry, welding, janitorial work, and how to drive a forklift. Earlier this year he completed a Microsoft course, in addition to the work he’s done in self-help programs. His final step was learning what to do with this knowledge.

“It’s all coming together,” said Fletcher. “For him [Kernan] and Warden Davis to be in the room together says a lot about the governor’s plans for the prison system, and I’m glad to be a part of it.” Fletcher will appear before the Board of Parole Hearings later this year.

Diana Williams, who co-founded the PEC workshop with inmate Noble Butler under its previous name, Employment Readiness Seminar, said CDCR recidivism was at 65 percent in 2010. Today, she said it has dropped to 45 percent. Statistically though, 16 of the men at the seminar will return to prison within three years of their release.

“We’re taking guys out of prison and preparing them for employment”

“I’ve spent the last 12 weeks with these men. To think 16 will return, I know you can do better than that,” said Williams.

“I had trouble talking to people,” said Joe Loredo, 48. “It [PEC] gave me hope and opportunity to achieve a lifelong dream to establish myself as a hard-working citizen.” He paroled in June.

Diana Velasquez of One Stop Career Center said they provide services to help people with résumés, cover letters, interviews, clothing, and workshops. They also help individuals with their credit and housing, and allow them free use of computers.

A representative from Center for Employment Opportunity told the men, “It’s easy to get a job when you’ve got a job,” emphasizing the importance of finding employment as soon as possible.

“When I heard about it, I thought it was amazing,” said Gabrielle Nicolett, a former juvenile probation officer. She volunteers to help facilitate the program with activities such as grant writing. “It’s extremely inspiring. It’s great to see them [inmates] so excited,” she said.

Inmates said they were particularly pleased that the employers didn’t treat them like prisoners.

Williams said about 180 interviews took place. The employers filled out 152 assessments on the interviews and ranked them as follows:

9% of the interviewees scored low.

49% of the interviewees scored good.

40% of the interviewees scored excellent.

Williams provided the graduates with certificates of completion and a list of employers who hire parolees. “Use the employers on this list,” she said. “They won’t give you ‘the look.’”

Butler said originally he did this for himself because he wanted to know how to get a job. But it turned into something bigger. “I had an idea, but when I was introduced to [Williams] it really took off.”

Butler’s idea seemingly underscores the sentiment of Gov. Brown, as expressed by Kernan when he said, “We’re changing the way we incarcerate like nowhere in the nation.”

San Quentin News & Wall City Merchandise

http://sanquentinnews.com/job-fair-sponsored-by-trust-program/

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Tasty graduation for the first class Quentin Cooks

December 30, 2016 by Wayne Boatwright

The inaugural graduating class of “The Quentin Cooks” prepared a five-course feast as a worthy finish to the new Culinary Arts Program, a 12-week course on basic culinary knowledge and skills. The course provides practical training from instructors with real-world experience and the chance to earn a ServSafe certification, which is required to work in a California restaurant.

Gourmet food prepared by the students

About two dozen guests were invited to tour a modern restaurant kitchen in the H-Unit mess hall and witness an intricate dance of uniformed cooks, knives and flame on Oct. 10 beginning with “Breadstick with 55° Silver Salmon & Deviled Egg” garnished with baby arugula.

Overseen by Chef Lisa Dombroski and Chef Eric Hollis with the aid of Chef Tu David Phu, the crew next served the creation “Quentin Cobb Salad” (little gem lettuce, avocado, scallion and cherry tomato with creamy herb dressing and garnished with Parmigiano Reggiano).

Attendees included Warden Ron Davis, Jill Brown (SQ Warden in 2004-5), sponsors and potential employers of these job-ready graduates.

Chef Lisa acknowledged the graduating class. “You studied even when not asked to…I respect each one of you,” she said. The program plans to increase from 10 students to 15 for the next group beginning in January.

Quentin Cooks serving up a tasty meal

“Chef Eric gives us a hard time, but it’s worth it,” said Joel McCarter a graduate who has been in prison nine years and will go home in March 2017. A wait-list already exists for the next class, which seeks participants with an Earliest Possible Release Date (EPRD) between six months and three years.

Brown said, “It’s wonderful to see how the San Quentin community continues to grow and make events and development like this possible.” While retired from the CDCR, Brown now consults with various groups to implement more programs like this one throughout the CDCR.

The graduates not only prepared and served the meal, but were also invited to sit and share their stories with the visitors as they enjoyed the “Shellfish Duo” (Java lump crab cake, shrimp, and remoulade).

Chefs with the graduating class of “The Quentin Cooks”

This was an effort supported by the whole San Quentin community. Speaking of Officer Thompson, an H-Unit mess hall officer, “He really made this program happen….he makes the kitchen work,” said James “New York” Seegars. Seegars will parole to San Francisco late this year and already has two job interviews set up by Helaine “Lanie” Melnitzer, a San Quentin Trust officer and co-sponsor of the program.

This new program is made possible by a partnership between the CDCR and The Chefs’ Warehouse, a nationwide distributor of gourmet food and restaurant supplies. With a main course of “Allen Brothers Angus” (with scalloped potatoes and seared late-summer vegetables) all the participants appreciated how the company earned the motto “Where the Chefs Shop.”

“Like Chef Lisa always says, ‘there is no place to hide in the kitchen,’” said Sunshine “Sunny” Prado, who has been in prison for 14 years and goes home in early 2017, as he accepted his certificate and complimented the chefs on the training.

While a dessert of “Quentin Biscuits and Berries,” with fresh whipped cream and garnished with a mint leaf, may sound like the crowning achievement of the night, each of the Quentin Cooks earned a California ServSafe certification.

As with the three chefs running the program, the certification training and testing was provided by a volunteer, Mike Sabells, of FoodSafetyCertified.org.

Successful participants also receive assistance with job placement upon completion and parole.

https://sanquentinnews.com/quentin-cooks-gets-standing-ovation-from-30-wardens/

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