How We Began

Hudson Link was founded when state and federal funding for college education in prisons stopped. In 1998, inmates at Sing Sing Correctional Facility reached out to religious and academic volunteers for help. The loss of a college program was having a devastating effect on prison morale. The volunteers responded. Under the leadership of Dr. Anne Reissner, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison was founded to restore college education at Sing Sing through private funding.

Hudson Link began offering courses in June 2000 with 22 students taught by Nyack College faculty. Seventeen men graduated with bachelor degrees in Organizational Management in 2001. That year, the program enrolled 35 students through a new partnership with Mercy College. The students at Sing Sing take the same curriculum as other Mercy College students to earn their degrees. Hudson Link’s success at Sing Sing has enabled us to expand our program to a second correctional facility with other academic partners. Our plan is to continue to model our educational program at other facilities as funding allows. 

We are committed to helping our students prepare for more constructive and meaningful lives – whether it is in prison or out in the community. The highlight of each year – and the event that validates our work and the support of our donors -- is our annual graduation ceremony at Sing Sing, where the men who have worked hard to earn their degrees walk down the aisle to the applause -- and happy tears -- of their family and friends. Our commencement speakers have included the actor/singer and social activist Harry Belafonte, and actors Ice-T and Tim Robbins.

We maintain a close relationship with our alumni who are released. We refer them to existing out-reach programs and, more recently, expanded Hudson Link's own services to ensure our alumni’s  success. We also sponsor alumni dinners and art exhibitions to give our supporters an opportunity to meet the talented men who have benefited from their support. 

We are but a “link” that binds the prison administration, our educational partners and you – our supporters –  to make it possible for incarcerated men and women to experience the transformative power of education.