Thanks to San Quentin’s first-ever Skype computer conference call to be allowed between California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation prisoners and youth in the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), California officials think they’ve opened a door to exchanging valuable instruction between inmates at different institutions. The July face-to-digital-face electronic encounter was a part of an Adult Youth Offender Mentorship pilot program. The partnership was formed between the Last Mile and DJJ. Prisoners of the San Quentin’s Last … [Read more...] about Skyping with SQ’s Last Mile and DJJ
Beverly Parenti
Butterscotch comes back to perform for TLM
A crowd of incarcerated men cheered like it was their parole day when Antoinette “Butterscotch” Clinton took the stage at San Quentin State Prison June 14. This time, she returned with Grammy-nominated artist Ryan Leslie. The musical genius turned a prison chapel into a concert, a reunion and a pre-graduation celebration for computer coding and construction apprentice trainees. The music festival featured spoken word artist and returning citizen Jason “JC” Cavitt, Swedish Grammy-nominated rapper and producer David Jassy, and Eric “Maserati … [Read more...] about Butterscotch comes back to perform for TLM
Coming back to prison to help bridge the digital divide
Behind San Quentin’s walls, there is a pair of programs dedicated to closing the digital divide, Code.7370 and TLMWORKS. Tulio K. Cardozo, a former San Quentin inmate, runs one of them. These programs are sponsored by The Last Mile. Cardozo is in charge of TLMWORKS, a coding development joint venture. It pays a whopping wage of $16.49 an hour to inmates. “I’ve got to make four client calls this afternoon,” said Cardozo as he guided me to the TLMWORKS offices. “Why don’t you speak with a few of our team members first?” The men of TLMWORKS … [Read more...] about Coming back to prison to help bridge the digital divide
The passion of running stretches beyond the prison walls
From the yard inside San Quentin State Prison, Chris Schuhmacher used to look up over the walls at Mt. Tam, thinking one day I’m going to get there. Now on parole, he’s arrived and he continues using the two things that got him through his bid—running and computer coding. “Chris exemplifies the spirit, drive and determination of someone who wants to succeed and set an example for others,” Beverly Parenti, co-founder of the Code.7370 coding program at San Quentin, said. Schuhmacher works as a software engineer for Fandom, a company that … [Read more...] about The passion of running stretches beyond the prison walls
Code.7370 host Lance Armstrong
In a small classroom with popular catch phrases like Think Different and Believe in the Process on its walls, about two dozen San Quentin prisoners waited for a surprise guest—the world-renowned, once top cyclist, Lance Armstrong. “I’ve never been in jail. But I know what it’s like to run afoul of the system,” Armstrong said, on Jan. 11, to inmates enrolled in a highly touted computer coding program. Venture capitalists Beverly Parenti and Chris Redlitz created Code.7370 in conjunction with the California Department of Corrections and … [Read more...] about Code.7370 host Lance Armstrong
Inspirational speaker spreads message of happiness to Code.7370
Sebastian Terry makes a living out of only doing things that make him happy. He came to San Quentin on Oct. 5 to share his mantra with a classroom of incarcerated computer coders, teaching them that if you “dream it, wish it, do it,” you can lead a fulfilling life. “The very reason you’re in this room is that you’re pursuing your dreams,” Terry told the inmates in the coding school, Code.7370. Code.7370 is a collaboration of Hack Reactor, a private San Francisco coding school, the California Prison Industry Authority and Silicon Valley … [Read more...] about Inspirational speaker spreads message of happiness to Code.7370
Code.7370 Graduation Day at SQ
Justin Meskan spent the last seven years behind bars, but in August he is scheduled to get another chance at putting his life back on track, with the assistance of an innovative computer programming class taught at San Quentin State Prison. Speaking on the occasion of Code.7370’s graduation day, March 23, Meskan, 35, said, “I learned a lot about how to work with other people, and coders, on a team level. I also learned about responsibility, getting to work every day and how to put my life first and get away from my old habits.” Dozens … [Read more...] about Code.7370 Graduation Day at SQ