Scenes from our ex-prisoner performing arts show "From Prison to the Stage" at the Kennedy Center.


The Prisons Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC that promotes the arts and education in prison and alternatives to incarceration.


Meet the Distinguished Board of the Prisons Foundation

Howard Zinn
Noted historian and playwright and author of the bestselling book A Peoples History of the United States.

Bill Frohlich
Editor-in-Chief of Northeastern University Press and publisher of acclaimed books about prison, including Undoing Time.

G. Ashanti Witherspoon
Radio and television talk show host, producer, motivational speaker and former prisoner featured in the documentary The Farm.

Bishop Walter F. Sullivan
Long-time fighter for prison reform and an opponent of the continued use of executions as punishment in America.

Kathleen O'Shea
Author of books on social justice and prison reform for women, including Women on the Row.

Paul Krassner
Legendary publisher of The Realist, author of several books and a much-in-demand performing satirist.

Wayland House
Art teacher and owner of Wayland House Gallerie, a popular Washington, DC art gallery.

Michael Newton
Author of encyclopedias and more than 100 nonfiction and fiction books.

Tom Lagana
Motivational speaker and editor of books in the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, including Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul.

Jimmy Lerner
Writer and poet, author of the prison memoir You Got Nothing Comming

Helen Thorne
President


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