Stanford and TLM students of the Unlocking Innovation Inside Prison project Stanford students and prison inmates joined forces by participating in a ten week engineering course aimed at finding solutions to social problems. The collaboration grew out of a chance encounter, about 10 years ago, between Stanford Professor Tina Seelig and venture capitalist Beverly Parenti. The two stayed in contact and floated around ideas. Seelig came to San Quentin about four years ago to observe The Last Mile (TLM), an entrepreneurial program and a … [Read more...] about Stanford joins with SQ in collaborative engineering project
The Last Mile
Skyping with SQ’s Last Mile and DJJ
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 Mile … [Read more...] about Skyping with SQ’s Last Mile and DJJ
UK coding program takes its cues from The Last Mile
San Quentin’s pioneering training program teaching prisoners to write computer code has attracted attention in Great Britain, as well as other countries abroad. The new coding program in the UK was patterned after San Quentin’s Last Mile, a program which is now called Code.7370. The British program opened in the Her Majesty’s Humber Prison in the United Kingdom (UK). “I read about The Last Mile a couple years ago and asked if I could do something similar over here in Europe” “I read about The Last Mile a couple years ago,” Michael Taylor, … [Read more...] about UK coding program takes its cues from The Last Mile
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
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 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 to Code.7370
SQN launches new website, SanQuentinNews.com
The Last Mile inmate coding program, Code.7370, has designed a new website for San Quentin News at www.sanquentinnews.com. Inmate Harry Hemphill built the website. He graduated from the coding class in April 2015. His work is the third iteration of the website since it debuted in 2010. “I’ve acquired a lot of technical skills,” said Hemphill. “I’m passionate about giving back to the community.” According to Hemphill, the project was budgeted for 150 hours of work, but he said it probably took a little more time. He said working on … [Read more...] about SQN launches new website, SanQuentinNews.com
A Look Back at Aly Tamboura’s Legacy and Accomplishments
Earlier this month, Aly Tamboura regained his freedom after 12 years of incarceration for assault. To say he is rehabilitated would be an understatement because, as it is sometimes said, “all felons are not created equally.” Tamboura, 50, did not serve a life sentence, so he could have sat around, done nothing and paroled from prison the way he entered, or worse. Instead, he strained tirelessly to change his life by taking advantage of every conceivable opportunity to redeem himself. “My aunt told me when I came to prison that I would … [Read more...] about A Look Back at Aly Tamboura’s Legacy and Accomplishments
Beverly Parenti Awarded for Her Work With SQ Inmates
Providing inmates with valuable skills that they can utilize for employment once out of prison became a priority for Beverly Parenti and her husband, Chris Redlitz, after a visit to San Quentin State Prison five years ago. “Our mission is to provide marketable skills that will result in gainful employment,” said Parenti in an interview with CBS SF Bay Area News. “We believe that having a job is truly the key to successful re-entry.” Parenti and Redlitz, who spent years working in the high-tech industry, were inspired to create The Last … [Read more...] about Beverly Parenti Awarded for Her Work With SQ Inmates
Computer Coders Show Their Skills
The most recent group of San Quentin inmates to complete a computer programming class demonstrated their coding skills for more than 100 invited guests, including the head of prison industries, Charles Pattillo, during a Dec. 9 event held at the prison. Thirteen inmates participated in the latest class of Code.7370, an innovative technology-training program. It is managed by the California Prison Industry Authority in collaboration with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and The Last Mile (TLM). TLM is the … [Read more...] about Computer Coders Show Their Skills