LEAD Fellowship

The Eastern State Center for Justice Education invites recently incarcerated people to join a true fellowship of their peers, working together to realize their full potential and reacclimate to life outside prison walls — mind, body, and soul. Every LEAD Fellow is paid for their participation and receives hands-on job training, establishing a pathway to meaningful, sustainable career opportunities in the museum field or other fields of interest. LEAD Fellows are also provided access to vital resources like housing support, financial education, and career services.
 

In addition to providing structured reentry support, the LEAD Fellowship is a bridge-building program that has a positive impact both on-site at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site (ESPHS) and in the community beyond. LEAD Fellows share their unique perspectives as formerly incarcerated people with museum visitors, unraveling stereotypes about people who have been incarcerated and augmenting the conversations about the criminal justice system happening at ESPHS every day. LEAD Fellows also engage community members beyond the walls of ESPHS in discussions about the impact of mass incarceration and their own lived experiences.