Organizer of MICS Session V: Social Work, Universities, and Ending Mass Incarceration: Possibilities and Challenges

We are living in strange and dangerous times. But one could argue that we have always lived in times like these. As social workers and students working around Mass Incarceration, what of our respective powers and strengths can we contribute given this new tear in our socio-political fabric? What does it look like when we stand together to organize and create the changes we need in this moment and those that are yet to come? How can we address the many (and often overwhelming) barriers in our way?

Fri, February 3, 2017

12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST

NYU Silver School of Social Work

1 Washington Square North

New York, NY 10003

Join us for a conversation with our 3 phenomenal guests, all working to redefine justice

Elisa Bokyung Kim is a Master of Science in Social Work candidate at Columbia University and has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology at New York University. She currently interns at Bronx Community Solutions- The Center for Court Innovation, an alternative to incarceration organization. She makes recommendations to the judge and prosecutors for alternative sentencing options, and conducts individual and group counseling sessions for youth with misdemeanor charges. Prior to this experience, she interned at Bronx Legal Services, a civil legal agency, working with low-income New Yorkers on issues of immigration, domestic violence, housing, education, and public assistance. During her internship, she spearheaded a community needs assessment and helped publish a report on intimate partner violence in the Bronx. As a result, she spoke at a symposium to unveil the findings and mobilize elected officials to act on the expressed needs and improve current services and systems. Additionally, she interns at Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), a nonprofit organization that provides resettlement assistance and empowerment programs to North Korean refugees and defectors. She is also an organizer for reproductive justice for APPI women and trans* people at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, and a Beyond the Bars fellow at the Center for Justice.

Darren Mack is a social justice advocate and activist in New York City. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Darren was directly impacted by the criminal justice system at the age of 17. His first time in the prison system, he served a total of 20 years straight. During his incarceration, Darren was accepted into Bard College’s Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) where he earned his B.A. degree in Social Studies in 2013. Since his release Darren has been involved with the CUNY Black Male Initiative at City College mentoring and tutoring students. He also became a member of the Education from the Inside Out Coalition (EIO Coalition) working to remove statutory and practical educational barriers for individuals with criminal justice involvement. He advocated in front of the Black and Latino Caucus to push legislation to the ban the box and in front of the SUNY Board of Directors, which in 2016 decided to ban the box in all SUNY campuses. Darren is an active member of Just Leadership USA (JLUSA) and their Close Rikers campaign. His experience on Rikers Island was covered by Mass Story Lab at the New School and other periodicals. He was honored in 2016 to be an Emerging Leader recipient from JLUSA. He is currently working as a Project Coordinator for the Beyond the Bars Fellowship in The Center for Justice at Columbia University. He intends to pursue a MSW in 2017. Darren is proud to be a 2016-2017 Beyond the Bars Fellow.

Cameron Rasmussen is the Program Director at the Center for Justice at Columbia University and has worked in program development, program management and direct service with individuals, families and communities impacted by incarceration and the child welfare system for more than five years. He is committed to reimagining our responses to human behavior and pathways to social justice and to contributing towards the larger movement of an anti-oppressive social work practice. At the Center for Justice he has helped to develop and manage a wide array of programming including the Rikers Education Program and the Beyond the Bars Fellowship, he is one of the lead organizers of the annual Beyond the Bars Conference and is leading the development of the Center’s newest project, Just Futures, a restorative justice program for incarcerated young adults at Rikers Island. Before joining the Center he co-developed and coordinated the Televisiting Program for Fathers at the Osborne Association, a program that allows children to video visit with their incarcerated father. He is an adjunct lecturer at Columbia School of Social Work and received his Masters degree in Social Work from Columbia University.