Warden Exchange: Shaping Next-Level Prison Leadership

The prison environments of today directly impact the success or failure of the thousands of people who will be released tomorrow.

Seeing an important opportunity and knowing that transforming prison environments will take the engagement of prison leaders, Prison Fellowship^® launched Warden Exchange^® five years ago. Today, Warden Exchange is a lauded incubator of transformational leadership, convening corrections professionals committed to creating safer, more restorative prison environments.

Warden Exchange draws together in-person and online cohorts of corrections officials who emerge equipped to bring restorative change to their facilities. Through seven- or nine-month programs, more than 100 wardens from across the country have partaken in intensive exchange with interdisciplinary thought leaders. Together they share innovative ideas and best practices for transformational leadership, community engagement, and the moral rehabilitation of incarcerated men and women.

This year, your support has opened the door for 19 wardens to enter the latest Warden Exchange Residency class, and 28 joined the online class. During Warden Exchange residencies, Prison Fellowship hosted diverse and high-profile speakers, including Ian Bickers, the United Kingdom’s governor for prison reform. Participants also visited California’s Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and the Ohio Reformatory for Women to see transformative solutions in action, coming away with inspiration to effect change at their own facilities.

This year, Prison Fellowship also launched myWardenExchange, a website that gives alumni and participants ongoing access to tools and a network of like-minded professionals to bolster their long-term success. And we aired 22 new episodes of the “Reimagining Prison” podcast series, helping to shape the national conversation on best practices in corrections.