We are delighted to announce the promotion of Lila McDowell to Executive Director of Hudson Link.

Her exceptional leadership has been a driving force in advancing our mission to transform the educational landscape within and beyond correctional facilities. Lila’s dedication and vision have been instrumental in fostering meaningful change, and we look forward to embarking on this new era with her at the helm of programs and operations. 

In her previous roles at Hudson Link as first Development Director from 2016 to 2019 and then Deputy Director since 2019, Lila consistently showcased exceptional skill in managing fundraising efforts, achieving programmatic goals, and leading day-to-day operations. In 2024 , Lila led the Board’s strategic planning sessions, revised key student and faculty documents, conducted clean organizational audits, delivered an impactful keynote speech at the Massachusetts Prison Education Consortium, and led a session at the NACADA Annual Conference.

Lila has also greatly enhanced Hudson Link’s public profile through special projects, such as the chapter she published, with Sean Pica as co-author, in Dr. Erin Corbett’s The Bloomsbury Handbook of Prison Education. With a master’s degree in educational research methodology and a doctorate in education from Oxford University that focused on post-secondary programs in prison, coupled with her previous experiences at the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Exodus Transitional Community in East Harlem, Lila has demonstrated her unwavering dedication to transforming the lives of current and formerly incarcerated people through education.

We are thrilled to continue our journey under Lila’s leadership and anticipate the significant impact she will make as Executive Director.