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The unthinkable | Michael Grasing | TED Goes to Prison at Coxsackie Correctional Facility 2022

Listen to the story of how one horrible decision can affect so many lives forever. Nevertheless, it's never too late to turn your life around and attempt to become a better person. A reckless lifestyle and a series of extremely poor decisions culminated in a long prison sentence for Michael Grasing. However, since entering prison, he has dedicated his life to becoming better and is no longer the man he was. He was born and raised on the South Shore of Long Island by two wonderful and supportive parents and is the proud father of 13-year-old Michael Grasing III. He looks forward to being a positive influence on his his community upon release.

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Possibility | Andre Norman | TED Goes to Prison at Coxsackie Correctional Facility 2022

Andre Norman is the reason to believe in second chances. His tenacity and passion for people led him to start his transformational program, The Academy of Hope, a program designed to reduce institutional violence in prisons by providing an intense level of intervention while also creating a positive environment for the inmate population and staff. But this wasn’t always his calling. Nearly two decades ago, Norman was serving a 100-year sentence in prison, but he was no regular prisoner. A natural-born leader, he rose to be the top gang leader within the facility, running all the daily gang activity. After an epiphany in solitary confinement, Norman made the decision to turn his life around. He had a simple dream to attend Harvard University and become successful. Over the next 8 years, Andre worked 20-hour days to make this dream a reality. He taught himself how to read, then to study and understand the law, and then volunteered to participate in anger management groups. After winning his appeal and being armed with a GED and a dream, Andre walked out of prison in 1999, after serving 14 years. Having survived rock bottom, Norman knew he could help others do the same. He pulled from his life experiences and created The Academy of Hope and set out on his mission to teach both individuals and corporations how to turn any situation around. His solution-based recovery efforts have impacted regions, including Honduras, Bahamas, Sweden, Guatemala, Liberia, and Trinidad. He has spoken on multiple TEDx stages. In addition, his innovative strategies against gang activity and inmate manipulation have improved correctional systems across the U.S. Norman also superseded his goal to attend Harvard University. In 2015 — nearly 25 years after leaving prison —he was given a Fellowship at the prestigious institution. Soon, the doors were opened for him to become a lecturer there and beyond. Along with Harvard University, Norman has been a featured speaker at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Andre also collaborates with the London Business School Executive Education department to design unique experiential learning labs for some of its top clients, including: Prudential Insurance (UK), Bovis Lend Lease, (AUS), Deutsche Bank (Germany), British Petroleum, UK), Ericsson (Sweden), DANONE (France), KPMG and more. Through his various notable affiliations — Genius Network and YPO, just to name a few — Norman continues to spread the word about how real transformation happens. In 2020, Norman released his first book titled “Ambassador of Hope: Turning Poverty and Prison into a Purpose-Driven Life.” He also is developing various training manuals to help better serve companies and corrections.

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How to be a better prosecutor | Cyrus Vance | TED Goes to Prison at Coxsackie Correctional Facility 2022

Cyrus Vance was the Manhattan District Attorney for three consecutive terms between 2010 and 2021. He is now in private practice and a partner at Baker & McKenzie in New York City, leading its global cyber security practice. As the Manhattan district attorney, Cy led many criminal justice reform efforts, including creating the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative which invested $250 million dollars in criminal forfeiture funds to support college programming in prison throughout New York State, families and youth at risk of criminal justice involvement, and re-entry initiatives for citizens returning home from prison. Last November, Cy’s office exonerated two men wrongfully convicted of killing Malcolm X in the 1960s.

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