We’re excited to welcome new staff members on board: Melanie Booth, Chief of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation; Jahslyn Chen See, Development Associate; Hannah Evans, Technical Assistance Coordinator; Arthur Jackson, Program Clerk; and Makenzie Means, Development Manager.
Melanie Booth has been connected as an advisor to the Prison University Project since the summer of 2019, and joined us in February 2020 as Chief of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation. Melanie has served at and consulted with colleges and universities nationally and internationally around educational quality and student success; institutional change and innovation; institutional effectiveness and accreditation; and adult learning and development. She served as the Founding Executive Director of The Quality Assurance Commons as well as Vice President of Educational Programming for WASC Senior College and University Commission. She holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership & Change – Higher Education from Fielding Graduate University. She also holds an MA in English, Rhetoric & Writing Studies from San Diego State University and a BA in English from Humboldt State University.
Before joining the development team at the Prison University Project, Jahslyn Chen See served as operations, accounting and professional development coordinator at a residential design firm based in Oakland. Jahslyn is a first generation Afro-Caribbean immigrant currently in pursuit of her MBA with a concentration in Arts Management. She is passionate about emotional intelligence, collective impact, non-violent communication and the art of trauma-informed leadership. Her hobbies include dance, plant-based cooking, and spending time with her brilliant siblings, her fierce mother, and her inspirational chosen family.
Before joining the Prison University Project, Hannah Evans taught English as a foreign language in elementary and middle schools in Nagasaki, Japan. Hannah previously worked for the Prison University Project between 2015 and 2017, and volunteer co-taught a College Preparatory English course for the program in 2017. Her experiences working alongside educators and students at the Prison University Project inspired her to explore a career in teaching, and she went on to teach in a variety of educational settings, including ESL classes for adults, children’s day camps, and tutoring centers for teens. Through teaching, she gained a greater understanding of the value of student-centered education and is excited to rejoin the Prison University Project team in its effort to expand access to high-quality, inclusive education for incarcerated people. Hannah earned her BA from UC Berkeley in Latin American Studies.
Arthur Jackson has been a student with the Prison University Project since 2016 and joined the staff as a clerk in 2019. He served as a teaching assistant for English 99A and currently serves on the student-led academic conference committee. Arthur presented a paper at the 2018 conference at San Quentin, “Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reform: 21st Century Solutions for 20th Century Problems”. Outside of academics, Arthur is training to become a yoga instructor and working to develop a peer mentorship program for incarcerated youth.
Makenzie Means is thrilled to bring over seven years of experience in nonprofit fundraising to the Prison University Project. Prior to joining the team, she worked in development operations and management at several organizations around the Bay Area. Most recently, she was Director of Development Operations at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, and many of her previous roles were similarly focused on education and community-building. Makenzie holds a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, San Marcos and Master’s Degrees in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from the University of Southern California and Hebrew Union College.
Please note that the Prison University Project became Mount Tamalpais College in September 2020.