Tutor and Marathon Runner Hannah Jo Champions Educational Justice in Philadelphia
Introduction: The Intersection of Purpose and Persistence
Showing up consistently for youth impacted by the carceral system demands a similar patience, determination, and unyielding commitment as that required to train and run for 26.2 miles. As a dedicated volunteer tutor with the Petey Greene Program and an athlete preparing for the upcoming Philadelphia Marathon Weekend, Hannah Jo embodies this powerful convergence of endurance and advocacy. For Hannah, advancing educational justice is neither a sterile intellectual exercise nor an abstract ideal debated in academic halls; it is an active, day-to-day commitment to standing beside young people who have been systematically sidelined. She recognizes that true structural reform cannot be achieved through short bursts of outrage, but through long-term, deliberate presence—where every tutoring session and every training mile represents a steadfast step toward collective liberation.
"Educational equity and justice... this is such a tangible action that we can take because I think a lot of times people have big hearts and then feel paralyzed in the sense of 'what do I do?'"
This passion for converting empathy into tangible action was not formed overnight; rather, Hannah’s commitment to educational advocacy grew directly out of her undergraduate studies and social justice awakening at Cornell University.
From Cornell to Community: The Trajectory of an Educator
Hannah’s journey toward educational advocacy took root at Cornell University, where she graduated in 2022 with a degree in Environment and Sustainability and Climate Science. As she examined ecological systems, she found herself confronted by severe structural inequities—how access to clean air, safe drinking water, and fresh produce is heavily dictated by race and socioeconomic status. During her senior year, an elective on mass incarceration expanded her perspective, exposing the generational mechanics of systemic racism and the carceral state. Crucially, her commitment was solidified by a professor and mentor whose formal academic background was entirely outside prison education. Seeing this professor dedicate countless volunteer hours to Cornell's prison education program proved to Hannah that meaningful advocacy does not demand specialized credentialing or institutional permissions; it simply requires a heart for justice and the resolve to show up.
After relocating to Philadelphia for her professional career, Hannah immediately sought ways to translate her convictions into local community action, applying to the Petey Greene Program (PGP) in August 2022. Exactly one year later, in Fall 2023, PGP Regional Program Manager Fiona Flynn reached out for an interview—reigniting Hannah's desire to step directly into educational spaces across the city.
Now deeply rooted in Philadelphia's educational ecosystem both inside public school classrooms and carceral facilities, Hannah has built an expansive footprint across multiple learning environments.
Broadening Impact: Hannah’s PGP Footprint Across Philadelphia Facilities
Since joining the Petey Greene Program in Fall 2023, Hannah has provided tailored academic mentorship and holistic support across three distinct carceral and youth-support facilities in Philadelphia.
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High school youth in a youth diversion program working on academic coursework, GED preparation, and driver's permit tests.
Building consistency and life skills: Meeting students where they are to support personal, academic, and career goals while providing a consistent, encouraging presence.
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Incarcerated women participating in a 4-part Healthy Minds & Bodies wellness course (designed and facilitated by Hannah in 2024–2025).
Fostering vulnerability, resilience, and hope: Creating a safe space inside a restrictive facility to discuss mental health, accountability, faith, relationships, and holistic well-being.
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High school youth navigating the juvenile justice system while enrolled in an "Introduction to Criminal Justice" college course (Fall 2025).
Supporting youth earning college credit while reflecting on the system: Assisting justice-impacted students as they analyze the very system they are experiencing while earning college credits.
While her multi-site engagements reflect the broad scope of systemic reform, the true power of Hannah’s work is best captured through the quiet, personal breakthrough of an individual student.
Mentorship in Action: A Story of Breakthrough and Transformation
In a quiet room at a local youth diversion site, an eighth-grade student sat with his arms tightly crossed, projecting a wall of total resistance. At just 13 years old, he was the youngest participant the partner organization had ever received, and his closed posture radiated a clear message: he was "not here for it." Recognizing that pushing rigid academic tasks would only deepen his defensiveness, Hannah met his silence with patient empathy. She structured their initial meetings around low-pressure, strengths-based exercises in subjects where he already felt confident, building a foundation of trust before asking him to tackle more demanding coursework. Over several weeks of steady, unhurried presence, his guard began to melt. The definitive breakthrough came when he burst into a session brimming with high energy, eagerly initiating a detailed conversation about his day and week without any prompting. Beyond helping him transition out of a disciplinary academic support track and back into a standard public school environment, the deepest testament to their bond was that long after his official required term with the diversion program ended, he kept coming back to the PGP site after school—simply to hang out and stay connected.
This individual victory reinforces Hannah's deeply held conviction that educational access and unconditional human support are not earned privileges, but fundamental moral rights.
Core Philosophy: Educational Justice as a Moral Right
Hannah’s educational philosophy draws upon a foundational concept she encountered in high school through Green Revolution scientist Norman Borlaug. While acknowledging that Borlaug's technological legacy remains a controversial topic in ecological history, his declaration that "food is a moral right" resonated deeply with her. Hannah expands this framework to encompass education: quality academic instruction and holistic care are unalienable moral rights that belong to every human being regardless of background or past mistakes.
In 2025, Hannah Jo volunteered with our partners at The Open Hearts Cafe at the Church of the Holy Trinity, which provides free hot meals and free clothing to people facing food or housing insecurity in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia.
In her daily work as a SNAP-Ed Wellness Coach across Philadelphia public schools, Hannah bears witness to how severe systemic disinvestment manifests on the ground. In neighborhoods designated as food deserts, families reliant on neighborhood corner stores face insurmountable logistical hurdles—where reaching the nearest ShopRite requires a personal automobile that many households simply do not possess. In classrooms where more than 95 percent of students are Black, young people carry immense, unaddressed generational trauma into the school building. Hannah observes how public institutions frequently attempt to address these crises through fragmented, "topical streams of support"—siloed interventions that fail to see the student as a whole person. Instead, she advocates for holistic care that connects food access, physical safety, trauma processing, and carceral prevention as interlocking social determinants of health.
Central to Hannah’s ethos is an absolute refusal to pathologize young people, firmly asserting that "no student is bad." When students exhibit disruptive behavior, traditional institutional responses lean toward exclusion and disciplinary exile. In her cooking and gardening classes, when teachers urge her to remove acting-out students, Hannah practices the radical act of "drawing closer." Rather than banishing a child who is throwing objects, she hands them a kitchen knife or places a potted plant directly into their grip—extending immediate, tangible responsibility and agency at the exact moment they are pushing away hardest.
Core Advice for Prospective PGP Tutors
Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Avoid jumping in with hasty responses; prioritize understanding the student's perspective first.
Control your reactions when hearing heavy or challenging stories. Students often share experiences that may sound shocking to an outsider but represent their daily reality.
Act as a sponge—absorb, internally process, and remain a safe, non-judgmental space. Sit with difficult truths silently so the learner never feels hesitant to open up again.
To ensure that justice-impacted youth across Philadelphia continue receiving this essential, empowering support, Hannah is translating her moral framework into physical endurance on the streets of the city.
The 26.2-Mile Campaign: Running for PGP’s Future
Two years after completing her very first half-marathon alongside Team PGP, Hannah is stepping up to conquer her first full 26.2-mile race at the 2026 Philadelphia Marathon. For Hannah, every long training run through the city's neighborhoods serves as a direct, physical extension of her classroom advocacy. By channeling her stamina into a structured fundraising campaign, she aims to raise $1,500 to fund the Petey Greene Program’s ongoing operations—guaranteeing that justice-impacted learners across Philadelphia continue to receive free, high-caliber tutoring, college-preparatory coursework, and transformative wellness programming.
Event:
2026 Philadelphia Marathon (First full 26.2-mile marathon).
Fundraising Goal:
$1,500 directly supporting Petey Greene Program educational operations.
Call to Action:
Support Hannah's 26.2-mile campaign by making a financial gift to Team PGP or applying to become a volunteer tutor to invest directly in the potential of Philadelphia's youth.