Hilary Binda is the Founder and Executive Director of the Tufts University Prison Initiative (TUPIT) and its MyTERN College and Reentry program at Tufts. With a PhD in English Literature and as a member of the Civic Studies Department at Tufts University, she teaches Literature and theory, Gender Studies, and Carceral Studies at Tufts and in the degree program that runs in 3 facilities, at MCI-Concord, Souza Baranowski Correctional Center, and Northeastern Correctional Center. Hilary directs the MyTERN reentry program on the Tufts University campus, teaching people returning from prison alongside some undergraduate students from Tufts University in courses titledThe Literatures of JusticeandStorytelling for Social Change. Binda is a co-producer of theMyTERN Conversations podcastand a founder and co-editor of the national journalReSentencing, that includes art and writing by people directly impacted by the legal system across the country. Her program directorships, teaching, as well as her current research, aims to support the development of educational access, racial and economic equity, decarceration, and decriminalization.
Academic Director & Program Administrator
Quinn Williamson
Quinn Williamson completed their MA in Philosophy from Tufts University with a focus on race, morality, and social and political thought and completed their BA at Howard University in Philosophy and Political Science. As an advocate for education and racial justice, Williamson founded the Urban Youth Alliance in 2014, where high school students from Jersey City, NJ worked as mentors and tutors with black and brown middle school students. Later on the organization expanded to include college coaching for black and brown students in the DC metropolitan area. As a member of the TUPIT team, Williamson supports the success of the programming inside prison through curriculum planning, faculty and TA coordination, and academic advising, as well as the support of the MyTERN reentry students adjusting to life out of prison. Williamson co-teaches in both the inside and outside reentry programs.