Spotlight Series: The Puttkammer Center
The Petey Greene Program operates across the United States as the largest multi-state provider of individualized educational services for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students. Today, let's learn about The Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice! The Center, launched by the PGP in 2024, aims to identify and promote best practices in the field of carceral and reentry education through research and pilot programs.
MEET THE TEAM
Chiara Benetollo, PhD, Executive Director, The Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice
Dr. Benetello is a literary scholar and educator with a passion for expanding access to high-quality education. As the Executive Director of the Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice, she oversees research and evaluation, strategic initiatives, pilots, and R&D for the expansion of new, missio-aligned programs and services.
Nicole Delgadillo, Evaluation and Development Manager
Nicole first joined the Petey Greene Greene Program in October 2021 as the Demonstration Program Manager before becoming the New York Regional Manager in January 2023 and then ultimately transitioning to her current role as Evaluation and Development Manager in October 2024. Nicole is passionate about applied interdisciplinary research and program evaluation that is participatory, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of students impacted by the criminal-legal system.
Moira Marquis, PhD, Manager of Higher Education Partnerships
Moira Marquis has worked for educational justice for eighteen years including teaching in secondary schools and higher education, organizing prison book programs and literacy tutoring in prison. She has a PhD in English from UNC Chapel Hill and her research and writing can be found in academic and popular publications.
Janelle West, College Bridge Program Coordinator, Philadelphia
Janelle West is a scholar-practitioner with two decades of experience working at the intersection of higher education, equity, and justice. Throughout her career, she has been committed to expanding access to quality education for historically marginalized communities, particularly through programs that bridge the gap between opportunity and achievement.
INSIGHTS FROM THE PUTTKAMMER CENTER
Launched in 2024, the Puttkammer Center has garnered attention as a national thought leader. The Center focuses on incubating evidence-based initiatives that bridge research and praxis to benefit the field of carceral education. To learn more about what the Center accomplished in 2024, and the Center’s priorities for 2025, read the Center’s Strategy Brief.
One of the Center’s key roles is elevating and translating the PGP’s 17-year track record delivering high-quality services to a national research and policy stage. To that end, we fielded the first ever national partnership survey in Fall 2024, to collect insights from our valued partners. Check out this blog post to learn more about the preliminary findings from our research.
We are currently wrapping up a new study that highlights the important benefits to our volunteers of working with the PGP. Stay tuned for the full report!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE CENTER?
Last year, the Puttkamer Center developed a curriculum to take the high-quality training and leadership development that the PGP is known for offering its volunteers, and provide it directly to incarcerated scholars. Inside Tutors receive equivalent training, supervision, and support as traditional PGP tutors, and provide the same quality wraparound support to peers on the inside. Read more as Dr. Benetollo shares more about this exciting new initiative.
DONATE TODAY
Support the Petey Greene Program and the Puttkammer Center team today as we strive to meet even more students, of all ages, in their pursuit for education and enrichment.
Did you know that 26 million people work for companies with matching gift programs? Employer matching gift programs allow you to team up with your employer and combine your donation to the Petey Greene Program with your employee benefit to make a greater impact. If your employer matches your gift, your donation can be doubled or even tripled! Click here to learn how to double your impact this year!