EJP is thrilled to welcome Shaelyn Smith as our new Academic Director! In this role, Shaelyn will lead all our college-in-prison programming. Shaelyn is familiar with the obstacles and rewards of running a higher education program in a prison. She has spent the last eight years working with the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project (APAEP), based at Auburn University, first as a program coordinator and more recently as the Manager of Academic Programs.
In her role at EJP, Shaelyn will oversee our multiple initiatives at Danville Correctional Center. College-in-prison programming is EJP’s heart and soul. Shaelyn will ensure it continues to operate according to our high standards for critical, thoughtful intellectual engagement. In particular, she’ll provide pedagogical and strategic oversight to our programs, supervise about a dozen program coordinators, and collaborate with them to set up systems that ensure the 50-60 members that work with EJP at the prison each semester receive exceptional training and ongoing support. She will also build out EJP’s already-strong student support infrastructure. Lastly, she will take the lead in maintaining and building upon our professional relationship with Danville staff and administrators.
We are especially excited that Shaelyn will play a key role in EJP’s anticipated expansion to Menard maximum security prison for men, and Decatur women’s prison.
Shaelyn first got involved with teaching in prison while pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama. She was drawn to that program because it offered a course release from campus courses to teach in prison through the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project. Before getting involved with APAEP, she facilitated creative writing workshops at a therapeutic facility for adolescent girls.
Originally from a small town in northern Michigan, Shaelyn grew up with people who had few opportunities. “I knew people in high school who weren’t going to graduate, or maybe they dropped out with the knowledge that their future was on the family farm,” Shaelyn says. “I learned early on that the opportunity to go to college was an inherent privilege. I also saw the costs of poverty and substance use, which further shaped my understanding of systems of inequity that often lead to incarceration.” Shaelyn comes from a family of educators, and thought she would go on after graduate school to teach at a community college, but as soon as she taught her first class inside prison, she knew she had found her career path. She has taught creative writing and grammar classes in prison, and also helped build out degree programs and organize graduation ceremonies.
One of Shaelyn’s favorite things about working in higher education in prison is the sustained energy and joy present in prison classroom spaces.
Shaelyn says she has been following EJP’s work since she started teaching in prison. In 2016, she first met Rebecca Ginsburg and heard her speak at the National Conference for Higher Education in Prison. “I’m really excited to be here,” she says. “I’ve long-admired EJP’s dedication to its student-centered mission and abolitionist approach.” She’s looking forward to meeting EJP’s students — she received her clearance just this week! She continues to learn more about our program from everyone in what we call “the EJP Universe.”
Outside of teaching in prison, Shaelyn loves cooking — she previously worked for a celebrity chef in New York City. She is an avid reader of contemporary novels and narrative nonfiction, and enjoys attempting the New York Times crossword puzzle every day. Shaelyn and her family enjoy spending time in nature, hiking, canoeing, and swimming, and look forward to exploring parks inside and surrounding Urbana-Champaign this summer. She also spends a lot of time at the playground and doing arts and crafts with her four-year-old daughter.
Welcome to EJP, Shaelyn! We look forward to benefitting from your experience and insights.
