Agenda

11:30-12:00 — Lunch and Registration

12:00-12:05 — Introduction — Dr. Stephen Provasnik

12:05-12:25 — Overview of new PIAAC Prison data — Dr. Peggy Carr, Acting Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics

12:25-12:40 — Educational and Training Experience in a U.S. Prison — Erin Alomar (formerly incarcerated in a state correctional system)

12:40-12:50 — Q & A

12:50-1:25 — Panel 1:  Looking at the skills of the U.S. prison population

John Linton, Director (2001-2015), Office of Correctional Education, Office of Career, Technical, & Adult Education (OCTAE)
John Nally, State Director of Correctional Education, State of Indiana
Fred Patrick, Director of Center on Sentencing and Corrections, Vera Institute of Justice

1:25-2:00 — Panel 2:  Examining education and training in U.S. prisons

Lois M. Davis, Senior Policy Researcher; Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School at the RAND Corporation
Stefan LoBuglio, Director of Corrections and Reentry, National Reentry Resource Center of Council of State Governments Justice Center
Steve Steurer, Former Executive Director (1986-2015), Correctional Education Association, Consultant to the Rand Corporation

Speaker Bios

Peggy Carr, Acting Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education

Peggy Carr is the Acting Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics in the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. As Acting Commissioner, she oversees the collection, analysis, and reporting of education data ranging from preschool through graduate education. During her appointment as Acting Commissioner, Dr. Carr continues to serve as the Associate Commissioner of Assessment for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a role she has held for 16 years. She is responsible for the Department's national and international large-scale assessments. She oversees the administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), as well as the International Activities Programs, which include: the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Progress in International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) Dr. Carr has been a Senior Executive Service (SES) official for the Department of Education since 2001, and was awarded the Meritorious Executive Rank Award for sustained superior accomplishments in management of programs in 2008 by President George Bush.

Erin Alomar, Formerly Incarcerated in a State Correctional System

Hana Erin Alomar was born on an Air Force Base in Germany and is the eldest of 3 daughters to James and Cynthia Macpherson.  She is a graduate of Piedmont Virginia Community College where she received her Associates Degree and is currently near completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Social Work.  Ms. Alomar is also a graduate of UVA’s Darden Business School receiving certificate in Entrepreneurship and Financial Management.  She is also a certified Electrician’s Helper, Computer Aided Drafter, Optician, Building and Maintenance Apprentice, and has been certified as a Braille Transcriber by the U.S. Library of Congress. Ms. Alomar is currently employed by the City of Hampton’s History Museum where she manages a small staff at the historical Carousel and at Air Power Park.  She enjoys being an active mother and acknowledges the immense support of her family and friends as instrumental to her successful transition.  Ms. Alomar has been a participant in re-entry panel discussions addressing the community and frequently visits Virginia correctional institutions as a featured speaker to re-entering citizens about her incarceration, release, and transition back into society. Additionally, Ms. Alomar heads a support group for re-entering citizens at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Yorktown, Virginia where she is also active in numerous other groups and activities.  In her free time, she also creates and sells unique beaded necklaces and other handcrafted items with her sister. Ms. Alomar is inspired by the thought, “every saint has a past and every sinner has a future,” believing in equality and the ability to change.

Stephen Provasnik, U.S. Technical Advisor for PIAAC, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Dr. Stephen Provasnik works at the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the International Activities Branch, where he is the U.S. representative to the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Board of Governing Countries and the U.S. Senior Technical Advisor for PIAAC.  He also serves as the U.S. National Research Coordinator for the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015. Provasnik has previously served as the U.S. National Research Coordinator for the Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). In his career, he has worked variously as a public high school teacher in Japan, reporter for Gannett and the Yomiuri Shimbun, historian of education, statistician, and deputy editor for the NCES annual report, The Condition of Education. He earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago in history.

Panelist Bios

Lois M. Davis: Senior Policy Researcher; Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School at the RAND Corporation

Lois Davis is currently leading a National Institute of Justice study on the effect of prison closures and the fiscal challenges state correctional systems face.  Her recent policy research has focused on the intersection of public safety and public health.

John Linton: Director (2001-2015), Office of Correctional Education, Office of Career, Technical, & Adult Education (OCTAE)

John Linton retired in 2015 as the Director, Office of Correctional Education, in the Department of Education’s (ED’s) Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE).  During his tenure at ED, John represented the Department of Education on the staff working group of the cabinet level Interagency Reentry Council and chaired that group’s research committee.  Prior to his federal service, John was the State Director of Correctional Education in Maryland.  In addition to serving on the advisory committee for the PIACC Prison Study, John was actively involved in the development of the 2003 NALS prison study and of that study’s report, “Literacy Behind Bars.” 

Stefan LoBuglio, Director of Corrections and Reentry, National Reentry Resource Center of Council of State Governments Justice Center

Mr. LoBuglio joins the CSG Justice Center from the Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, where he served as chief of the Pre-Release and Reentry Services Division for the past 10 years. In this position, he oversaw the 171-bed, fully-accredited Montgomery County Pre-Release Center, which provides comprehensive reentry programs for incarcerated individuals from local, state and federal correctional facilities who are transferred to the Center when they are within a year of release. Prior to his work in Montgomery County, Mr. LoBuglio developed reentry and community correctional programs at the 2,000-bed House of Correction in Boston for more than 12 years, where he served as the deputy superintendent of Community Corrections for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department.

John Nally, State Director of Correctional Education, State of Indiana

 Dr. John Nally is a licensed public school administrator, special education director and the Chief Examiner for the GED program for the Indiana Department of Correction with over 40 years of experience in correctional education. Dr. Nally was part of the select group of practitioners who helped develop the “Reentry Education Model” with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Dr. Nally is a past President of the Council of Federal and State Directors for the Correctional Education Association and a past member of the CEA Board of Directors. He is a member of the Indiana Department of Education’s Special Education Advisory Committee.

Fred Patrick, Director of Center on Sentencing and Corrections, Vera Institute of Justice

 Fred Patrick joined Vera in July 2012 as the project director of the Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education Project. In 2015, he was named director of the Center on Sentencing and Corrections. He came to Vera from a career in public service in New York City where he served as Deputy Commissioner for Planning and Programs at the NYC Department of Correction, Commissioner of the NYC Juvenile Justice Department, and NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Community Affairs. Most recently, Fred served in executive positions at the Fortune Society, a reentry services organization, and NADAP, an agency providing workforce development and behavioral health services. He also served as a faculty member at John Jay College of Criminal Justice for several years. Fred has a master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and a BS in political science from Tuskegee University.

Steve Steurer, Former Executive Director, Correctional Education Association (1986- 2015)

Steve currently is a consultant to the Rand Corporation for Best Practices research funded by US Departments of Justice and Education; Consultant to Vera Foundation for Pathways post-secondary education project in New Jersey, North Carolina and Michigan; Reentry/Education Advocate to CURE, a national non-profit prison reform association composed of volunteers from all sectors of the justice system; Consultant to Keefe Corporation to develop content and apps for a secure educational tablet for inmates.