Z Online Class: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before each class session begins.
One in three American adults has a criminal record. This is partly the result of our country’s mass incarceration efforts over the past 50 years. How should we as a society respond to people with criminal records? How can we help those in our midst to be productive members of our communities and to assure their success? During these class sessions we will discuss the challenges and opportunities for those with a criminal record, and living in a society with many justice-impacted individuals. Topics will include re-entry from incarceration, trauma and mental illness, safety, housing, jobs, education, criminal background checks, public registries, collateral consequences, restorative justice, and expungements. Our presenters will invite a couple of justice-impacted people to tell of the difficulties they have faced, and help us understand what could be done better.
Kathie Gourlay holds an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. She is a retired Washtenaw Community College instructor who is passionate about criminal justice reform. Kathie volunteers with the American Friends Service Committee and Friends of Restorative Justice of Washtenaw County. Carolyn Madden has an M.A. in linguistics from the City University of New York and a J.D. degree from Wayne State University. She is a retired lecturer from the University of Michigan, and is a member of Friends of Restorative Justice of Washtenaw County and the League of Women Voters.