Amanda Klonsky

Background

About Amanda Klonsky

Dr. Amanda Klonsky has worked as an educator in jails and prisons for more than 15 years and speaks widely on issues of education and incarceration. Her forthcoming book,"Pandemic of Punishment," will be published by Beacon Press. Her work focuses on expanding access to education for people who are impacted by mass incarceration. Amanda offers her expertise in education policy and school improvement as a consultant for school districts, departments of correction, NGOs, and schools in confined settings. More recently, Amanda has been engaged in the efforts to respond to the crisis of COVID-19 in jails and prisons, contributing editorials and commenting in media venues including The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, and PBS News Hour. Amanda earned a Doctorate in Education Leadership at Harvard University (2018) and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago (2011). Her doctoral thesis traces the stories of young men in Chicago who were detained in the Cook County Jail during the period of emerging adulthood. Prior to entering Harvard, Amanda taught youth in confinement in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, where she co-led an arts and literacy program for detained youth. She went on to launch a district-wide initiative at Chicago Public Schools, to support post-release youth in returning to their home communities and schools. Most recently, Amanda served in the leadership of a large prison education organization that operates in jails, prisons, and detention centers across the Northeastern United States. To contact Amanda with media inquiries, or to arrange lectures, workshops, or consulting work, please go to Amanda is represented by Charlotte Sheedy at SheedyLit.