The Link, Spring 2006

From the Inside: Angelo Hunt, Class of 2006
From the Outside: Dr. Rosemarie Murray, Mercy College
Spotlight on New Board Members
(Download in PDF format )

From The Inside: A Welcome & Thanks

On behalf of the students and graduates of Hudson Link/Mercy College, I express gratitude to the board members who are stepping down, and I welcome the new board members introduced in this newsletter. People who dedicate themselves to empowering others perpetually amaze me. I hope people like you will continue to “create” people like me: individuals with hungry intellectual appetites, individuals who will make Hudson Link proud by giving of ourselves as you have shown us how to do!

I am who I am today—and who I am destined to become tomorrow—because people gambled on me: they took a chance on education. Those people believe that education and I together would bring about a “no fail” situation. When Hudson Link entered Sing Sing, its motto—”Believing in the transformative power of education,” caught my attention because I was not used to people—other than my mother—believing in me. I thought to myself: if people were willing to take that gamble, who was I to let them down.

Three years after starting the program, I have earned Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees. I have applied for—and hope to begin—graduate studies with New York Theological Seminary in September. Upon my return to society, I intend to study for (and complete) a Ph.D.

There are a great many people to whom I owe thanks. To those who donated to Hudson Link in the past I thank you humbly and sincerely. To the Hudson Link Board, I offer gratitude not only for myself, but also for all those whose lives you have touched. Believe me, your reach goes beyond students. My mother has felt your reach; my children have felt your reach. The families and friends of all the students have felt your reach. They see a change in us; they recognize our potential. They know that Hudson Link’s belief in the power of education is a belief that has transformed the men they come to visit, the men who have graduated and have left prison to rejoin their communities, and those who now sit in college classrooms at Sing Sing. Thank you for making a huge difference.

—Angelo Hunt, Class of 2006

From The Outside: A Farewell (Of Sorts)

This issue of The Link is the eighth that I have worked on in the almost 8 years I have been involved with Hudson Link. This “literary” production has been a labor of love because it has given me the opportunity (1) to work with highly motivated students, (2) to interact with all those who have made Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison a vital part of the lives of some men at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, and (3) to tell a little of the “story” of an organization with as practical a mission as one could ever envision when saying corrections and education in the same breath!

When Anne Reissner and I “retired” from the board after our terms of office as President and Vice President of the board expired this February, we handed over responsibilities to two of our colleagues whose commitment is as strong as ours has been: Bruce MacLeod and Maxine Baker. They have our good wishes and our promise of support.

In this my final newsletter, please indulge the editor. With all the compelling options for service to choose from—in a world that needs so much action for the common good—I would share with you, dear reader, the reason why some of us choose involvement with Hudson Link (and why you might choose to contribute in some way to this initiative). At Sing Sing, a place of notoriety—even infamy and mystery, disparate (not desperate) people come together to advance the mind and the spirit of one another. No teacher leaves at the end of a semester unaffected. No one who has ever gone on a tour and seen the severe conditions under which students study and heard men talk of what education has done for their lives has left unimpressed—and more than likely has been moved to contribute.

As our graduate to-be has expressed above, not only the students reap the benefits of enlightenment: their families, fellow inmates, and ultimately the outside world are affected. Maybe Hudson Link taps into a truly American “success” story because it depends on self realization, on atonement, on making amends by being something more than what one once was. Of this I am certain: no one goes to Sing Sing without being changed one way or another . For those who want to affect change for the good, Hudson Link is there. That makes it one great organization.

—Dr. Rosemarie Murray, Mercy College

Spotlight on New Board Members

Rev. Dr. Clyde Anderson currently serves as the chief executive officer of the United Methodist Society, the “mission arm” of United Methodism in New York. He is a noted theologian, visionary, workshop leader, teacher motivator, author, and administrator, known locally and internationally. His global ministry work - and hence his expertise - is in congregational development and community economic empowerment. Dr. Anderson supervises a professional staff that acts as the link to major corporations that are as investors in support of specialized programs and projects in impoverished areas.

In September 2005, Iris Cordero left her position as Coordinator of Student Activities at Westchester Community College and became the Dean for Student Affairs at Mercy College—her alma mater (B. S., 1992). She is a PhD candidate at the City University of New York and expects to complete her studies within a few years. Dean Cordero explains her interest in joining the Board this way: “Hudson Link’s mission resonates with my own vision for a better educated society—especially for those who didn’t see the value of education but now do.

David Fried joins the board of Hudson Link after 35 years as an instructional leader in Rockland County and the Bronx. He has held positions as Assistant Superintendent, Director of Curriculum and Assessment, Administrator of Secondary Education, Assistant Principal, as well as various teaching positions. Mr. Fried comments: ”I am honored to have been elected to the Board of this important organization. It is my hope that my expertise in literacy education and instructional program planning will contribute to Hudson Link's success."

Christian French is Chief Operating Officer of WRNN-TV Associates, owner of the Regional News Network (RNN), a local, independent television station in the New York demographic area. He has spent the last 10 years growing the distribution from 300,000 cable homes to over 5 million, including all five boroughs of New York City. Mr. French is a Rockefeller Fellow for the Partnership of New York City and volunteers with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Westchester. RNN has profiled the Hudson Link/Mercy College Commencement at Sing Sing and provided a forum for viewers to learn more about the efficacy of higher education in prison.

Jeanne Malter Liebmann became interested in Hudson Link after her son Michael was an intern in the Learning Center at Sing Sing two summers ago. Ms. Liebmann, a lawyer, has been a tutor with the Westchester chapter of the Literacy Volunteers of America. During the last presidential election, she was a volunteer in the Election Protection effort, a non-partisan campaign to monitor and insure the fair application of voting rights. She spent election day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, monitoring compliance with federal and Wisconsin voting law, supervising non-lawyer volunteers and helping voters, many of whom had never voted before. Ms. Liebmann is the new Secretary of the Capital Board.

New board member Gregory Palitz is an attorney and journalist. After many years practicing banking and finance law in New York City, he co-founded an equipment leasing and finance company. Currently, he writes for the local newspaper in Bedford and for other publications in the tristate area. This spring, Mr. Palitz will be teaching an introductory course in political science and government with Hudson Link volunteer, Michael Liebmann, who was a tutor at the prison last summer following his graduation from Washington University. For the next newsletter, the two hope to write about this teaching experience.

Sean Pica was doing casework and running small groups at STRIVE, a job development program in East Harlem, when he decided to go back to school for a Master’s degree in Social Work. He was accepted at prestigious Hunter College and graduated in 2005. He completed a one year internship at the Johnson Projects in East Harlem doing tenant advocacy work. Last summer, Sean began as Assistant Director of Club Access, a psychosocial clubhouse for people with mental health disabilities. Sean is proud to say he is the first Hudson Link/Mercy College graduate to join the board. He and his wife Lori have been active participants in Hudson Link functions in the past few years.

Rev. Betsy Roadman is interim Rector of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. She has been a volunteer with Ossining Prison Ministries for several years, serving breakfast to visitors in the trailer at Sing Sing on Saturday mornings once a month. Additionally, Rev. Roadman works with The Rev. Petero Sabune, current Chaplain at Sing Sing (and former member of the Hudson Link board!), teaching with the “Disciple Program” at the correctional facility.