Meeting with Professor Geraldine Downey

Today, I got to meet with Columbia University Professor Geraldine Downey, and to interview her about her work with criminal justice reform. Professor Downey teaches a class on the criminal justice system and works with the incarcerated, helping them to earn their college degrees. By merging psychology with criminal justice reform, she has also helped countless prisoners to balance rehabilitation and accountability. 

It was truly amazing to get such a personalized account of all the work Professor Downey has done over the years, and I even got to meet some of the previously incarcerated men and women who she helped to receive their PhDs from Columbia. One woman’s story was especially impactful, as she had been imprisoned in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, very close to my home—until I met her, I had never known anyone who served time in this prison. The woman told me how important it was for young people like me to do this kind of advocacy work—we are the future, she said. And I found it so inspiring to hear about new ways of getting involved, such as taking summer classes at universities and personally reaching out to professors like Geraldine Downey.