Posted on February 6, 2025
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The Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (FEPPS), with generous support from the Mellon Foundation, is forming a national consortium of higher education in prison programs that operate in prisons designated for women.
The Womxn’s Higher Education in Prison Consortium (WHEP) is a collaborative initiative designed to advance equity in higher education for incarcerated women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals. This groundbreaking effort brings together programs operating in women-designated prisons to address shared challenges, foster innovation, and advocate for systemic change.
We are grateful to have Christina Dawkins, founder of A4Abolitionist, as the facilitator of this important work. Christina brings years of experience teaching in prisons, building collaborative networks, and supporting equitable practices in higher education in prison. Her leadership will help guide the consortium as we collectively work toward meaningful and sustainable change.
Our Goals
This three-year initiative seeks to:
- Foster Collaboration: Connect 10 programs operating in women-designated prisons to share resources, ideas, and best practices.
- Support Leadership: Launch a Leadership Institute for incarcerated students to build skills in leadership, professional development, and community engagement.
- Expand Resources: Develop a shared database and curriculum tailored to the needs of students in women-designated prisons.
- Advocate for Equity: Address systemic disparities in funding and policy to better support education and reentry for students in women-designated prisons.
These goals reflect our belief in the power of collective effort and the transformative potential of education, and we are humbled to play a part in supporting this community.
Join Us
We invite higher education in prison programs operating in prisons designated for women to apply for membership in this groundbreaking consortium.
Inaugural members will:
- Collaborate with peers nationwide to shape the consortium’s mission, vision, and values.
- Share resources, strategies, and insights to address unique challenges in women’s-designated prisons.
- Have the opportunity to participate in collaborative research, retreats, site visits, and workshops.
- Receive $10,000 for their HEP program’s participation and contributions.
Eligibility
Membership is open to womxn’s HEP programs to put forward one representative to serve in the consortium. Representatives must be leaders in their HEP program in a women-designated prison.
Application Details
For more information and to apply, please visit https://forms.gle/cJfJ3GU99XcWpz6W6. Applications are due by February 28, 2025. To learn more about eligibility and selection criteria, click here. For questions, please email whep@fepps.org.
