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As mass incarceration has reached record levels, professor, journalist, and visionary founder of the Prison to College Pipeline (P2CP), Baz Dreisinger has traveled behind bars in nine countries to rethink the state of justice in a global context. Her eye-opening new book, Incarceration Nations, offers a first-person odyssey through the modern prison systems of the world and gives voices to the millions silenced behind bars. Join Dreisinger as she discusses her timely work and urges for a massive overhaul in prison reform in the U.S. and across the globe.
Dr. Baz Dreisinger is: professor, journalist, justice worker, film and radio producer, cultural critic and prison-rights activist. As a journalist and critic, Dr. Dreisinger writes about Caribbean culture, race-related issues, travel, music and pop culture for such outlets as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and ForbesLife, and produces on-air segments about music and global culture for National Public Radio. Together with filmmaker Peter Spirer, Professor Dreisinger produced and wrote the documentaries Black & Blue: Legends of the Hip-Hop Cop which investigates the New York Police Department’s monitoring of the hip-hop industry, and Rhyme & Punishment about hip-hop and the prison industrial complex. She is the author of Near Black: White to Black Passing in American Culture (2008) and, in 2016, Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World.
Scott Budnick is the Founder and President of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. He grew up in Atlanta, GA, and graduated from Emory University in 1999 with degrees in Business and Film. Formerly the Executive Vice President of Todd Phillips’ production company, Green Hat Films, Scott executive produced many successful comedies including the highest grossing rated-R comedies in history, The Hangover series. Outside of film, Scott is a fierce champion for children in need. Scott is a teacher and serves on the Board for InsideOUT Writers, an organization that aims to reduce juvenile recidivism through the use of creative writing and by providing a range of services to meet the needs of currently and formerly incarcerated young adults. Scott also serves on the Board of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps and on the Advisory Board for the Loyola Law School Center for Juvenile Law and Policy. For his work with youth in the criminal justice system, Governor Jerry Brown named Scott California’s Volunteer of the Year for 2012. Scott currently sits on the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) and the Governor-appointed Community Colleges Board of Governors. Most recently, Scott was selected to be a Board Member of President Obama’s newly created foundation, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
