Chicago Beyond Prepares for Second Annual National Convening
Photo: Chicago Beyond’s second annual National Convening will bring together jail and prison administrators, currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families, and correctional staff and union leaders. | Photo Credit: Courtesy of Chicago Beyond
Later this month, national philanthropic organization Chicago Beyond will host its second annual National Convening, a two-day gathering aimed at improving safety for people within U.S. jails and prisons.
Held in Chicago from Oct. 29–30, the convening will showcase practical strategies to implement Chicago Beyond’s Holistic Safety Framework into facilities, using real-world examples of collaborative approaches as successful case studies.
“The convening is premised upon bringing together the people most directly impacted by incarceration — jail and prison administrators, currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families, and correctional staff and union leaders — to build community and effect change”, said Nneka Jones Tapia, Chicago Beyond’s Managing Director of Justice Initiatives.
“We are in the middle of a public health crisis when research has shown that a person incarcerated loses an average of two years off their life for every one year they are incarcerated and that correctional staff have an average life expectancy of 58 years. We’ve seen the deteriorating effects jails and prisons have on everyone, and we are doing something about it. We have been supporting real action in jails and prisons, and we want to highlight the work that is underway,” said Tapia.
While last year’s inaugural convening brought together leaders from over 30 states representing more than 15% of the country’s incarcerated population, Tapia says the goal for this year is to lean into more difficult conversations to deepen relationships and push progress even further forward.
More information about Chicago Beyond’s mission, including the Holistic Safety Framework, can be found in a January/February 2025 Correctional News article.
Convening Agenda
The convening will officially begin Wednesday, Oct. 29, with an opening reception and keynote panel session, “The Power of Connection in Justice,” which will explore how connection fuels transformation from both sides of correctional walls, through legal advocacy and in leading reentry and narrative change. The panel will be moderated by Lawrence Bartley, publisher of The Marshall Project Inside, and include resilience expert and New York Times bestselling author Shaka Senghor, along with criminal defense attorney, author and co-founder of Life After Justice Jarrett Adams.
A full day of programming is on tap for Thursday, Oct. 30, including a morning kick-off session to introduce the “Connection in Corrections” theme. The speaker lineup includes lawmakers, state Departments of Corrections leaders, formerly incarcerated leaders and correctional staff.
Thursday’s agenda also includes a keynote from Amy Solomon, a Senior Fellow for the Council on Criminal Justice and the former Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.
At the end of the day, the convening will wrap with a final call to action and closing reflections.
More Details
While space is limited to this invitation-only event, the convening is intended for leaders with lived experience, such as people who were formerly incarcerated, correctional staff and their adult family members, as well as correctional administrators, justice advocates, policymakers and funders, and researchers and academics focused on justice reform, public safety, and related fields that impact jails and prisons.
Those interested in attending this year’s convening or future events can complete Chicago Beyond’s interest form.