P2P in New Orleans: ‘Jobs for the Future’ Horizons Conference

By, Jessica Snow

Last month, the P2P Leadership Team traveled to the bright and musical city of New Orleans, Louisiana to attend the 2022 Jobs for the Future (JFF) Horizon Conference.  This year’s conference had a focus on connecting impoverished and racially marginalized communities, and those from underrepresented backgrounds, to better jobs, skills, training, and education, enabling their access to an enhanced job market.

Our team was excited for the vision of this year’s event because it was the first time this conference had included a focus on those with criminal convictions.  JFF noticed the importance higher-education-in-prison plays in the future careers of incarcerated individuals, and the inclusion of system-impacted leaders in conference sessions and panels showed the necessity of these voices as they continue to drive and inform the field. P2P founder, Dr. Stanley Andrisse served on the panel, “Ready for Pell? Positioning Prison Education programs Ready for Scale, Quality, and Equity in 2023 and Beyond.” 

The presence of such leaders led to an impactful delivery by keynote speaker Larry Miller, Nike Executive and author of the memoir Jump. In his memoir, Miller recounts his life experiences growing up in Philadelphia including crimes committed in his young adult years.  Miller has used his memoir and appearances since Jump's publication to "potentially change the perception of formerly incarcerated people and how people view and give opportunities to the formerly incarcerated.”

Dr. Andrisse, author of From Prison Cells to PhD: It’s Never Too Late, enjoyed making the author-connection with Larry Miller during the conference. Our team found Larry laid-back and approachable.  Miller expressed a desire for supporting organizations doing work on the ground, and it is the hope of P2P to further connect with him in the future. Dr. Andrisse signed copies of his book at the event and enjoyed the chance to meet readers and leaders who came by the authors' tables. P2P brought over 250 copies of From Prison Cells to PhD and left wishing we had brought more! (more on that later.. P2P in NOLA Pt. 2!)

In New Orleans, our team was able to present, discuss, share, and network with many agencies doing incredible work throughout the multiple day event with JFF.  At the 2022 Horizons conference there was a spoken need for creating wrap-around services in reentry and building support systems for returning citizens to have better career opportunities.  P2P left this event energized in its commitment to offering educational support as the vehicle to enhanced access to these opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals.

​To see photos from the JFF event on our Photo page Here.
You are able to purchase Dr. Andrisse’s book Here.
Larry Miller’s book can be found for purchase Here