College and Community Fellowship
Barbara Martinsons & Vivian Nixon, Founder & Executive Director
“The College and Community Fellowship (CCF) strives to eliminate the individual and social barriers to education and civic participation of formerly incarcerated women and their families.” Through its activities and programs, CCF addresses the educational, economic, and political needs of formerly incarcerated people in the New York metropolitan area working in collaboration with other organizations to enhance their successful re-entry. Programs address basic needs while promoting leadership, self-advocacy, artistic expression, civic participation and long-term economic security.
Nearly 28,000 persons are released from New York State prisons each year. To increase the number of formerly incarcerated women attaining college degrees, CCF uses strategies that create paths for community reintegration. Through a Speakers’ Bureau and the Community, Leadership, and Education after Reentry (CLEAR) program, participants articulate the experiences of formerly incarcerated people. The goal is to shape public debate about higher education and reentry policy and the intersection with race, class, and gender.