PRISON EDUCATION BOOK CLUB
THE STORY
Dedication and Service
It is incredible how one small idea can grow into something truly special. Prison Education Book Club is rooted in the belief that we all have an inherent responsibility to make a meaningful difference in our community. With a variety of active projects and a volunteer staff, we harness our skills and resources to successfully achieve our goals.
As a librarian at the Sacramento State Prison, Adrienna Turner decided to start a book club after participating in a library webinar that encouraged them to start groups such as writing groups, book clubs, reading groups. In 2017, she wrote a proposal and was approved to start a book club in C Library.
Get to know the faces behind Prison Education Book Club
Adrienna Turner
Facilitator , Author,State Librarian
KEY PEOPLE
Dr. Fox
Professor, Author & Facilitator
Kimberly Moreno
Intern
Dhaksha Pillay
Intern
Julia Clausen
Past Intern
Melissa McDermott
Past Intern
Dr. Nicole Fox
Nicole Fox, Ph.D., is very passionate about prison education. She has been leading book clubs in Northern California prison facilities for over six years and cares deeply about justice impacted folks having access to books. She enjoys building community around book clubs in California State Prison Solano, Sacramento, and Folsom. She has had the pleasure of working with CSP-Solano Librarian Ms. Turner for six years building book clubs and writing programs together. Dr. Fox’s research analyzes how racial and ethnic contention impacts communities, including how remembrances of adversity shape social change, collective memory and present-day social movements. She is an Associate Professor of criminal justice at California State University Sacramento where she teaches about atrocity crimes, mass incarceration, global criminology, and law. Her 2021 book, After Genocide: Memory and Reconciliation in Genocide, focuses on how memorials to past atrocity shape healing, community development and reconciliation for survivors of genocide and genocidal rape. Her most recent project examines bystander intervention, with an emphasis on individuals who conducted acts of rescue during times of social unrest and political violence. Her scholarship has been published in Social Problems, Signs, Social Forces, Deviant Behavior, the Journal for Scientific Study of Religion, Sociological Forum, Societies without borders, among others. Her work has generously been supported by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Grant, the National Science Foundation, Andrew Mellon Foundation, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the American Sociological Society’s Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline and others. She also serves on the United Nations Economic and Social Council and contributes to the UN Commission for the Status of Women held annually at the UN headquarters. You can learn more by visiting her site.
Adrienna Turner
Adrienna Dionna Turner (“Deo”) is an award-winning author; senior state librarian of two libraries; I See Her support group leader, advocate and coordinator; and a book club facilitator. Adrienna has a Graduate Certificate in Legal Studies (Paralegal), Masters in Library Information Science, and a Bachelors in Information Technology Science (IT). She is an accomplished author of nonfiction, fictional series, and inspirational poetry and prose books. Her latest published works is an apocalyptic-spiritual thriller called Miss the Mark Series. She also has a financial literacy preparedness group at both libraries offered and expressive writing (write with purpose) in level two library; positive programming.
Kimberly Moreno
Intern
Kimberly Moreno is a graduating senior at California State University- Sacramento. She will be receiving her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree this Spring. While taking CRJ 190 with Dr. Fox, she was presented the opportunity to be an intern for The Prison Education Book Club. Kimberly's career aspiration is to become a Criminal Defense Attorney with a specific interest in representing those on Death Row.
Kimberly believes that as a future criminal defense attorney, programs like these are crucial for a successful rehabilitation and reintegration for offenders and for the safety of society. Being part of this program has allowed her to be involved in important discussions and give her an insight on working with incarcerated individuals.
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"He who opens a school door, closes a prison"
-Victor Hugo
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Dhaksha Pillay
Intern
Dhaksha Pillay is a graduating senior at California State University- Sacramento. She will be receiving her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree. During her CRJ 190 class with Dr. Fox, she was presented the opportunity to be an intern for The Prison Education Book Club. Dhaksha's career aspirations is to become a lawyer at United Nations. Her goal is to serve communities who do not have easy access to legal representation.
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Dhaksha took on this internship because she believes that this program allows room for literary conversations creating self-awareness, increased interest in education, and fosters love for critical thinking and development of communication skills. Moreover she was interested in witnessing the connection and solidarity that has taken place because of the book club. She shares that knowledge is so important and powerful, it can shape an individual's perspective.
Past Intern
Julia Clausen is a past intern and graduated from California State University, Sacramento in December of 2023 with a degree in Criminal Justice. She started as an intern at Solano State Prison in September of 2023. This opportunity was presented to her after studying abroad with Dr. Nicole Fox in Ghana. During this study abroad, she was able to visit a correctional facility while studying comparative justice. This sparked an interest in her about the correctional facilities in the United States.
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During her first time visiting the prison to be a part of a book club, she was absolutely speechless by how impressive these men are. The way they spoke about what the book club meant to them, how it has helped them, and how they reacted to the book was inspiring. She started regularly going and began facilitating meetings. In this book club, the men are challenged to have uncomfortable conversations, analyze new topics in different lenses.
Not only do the men learn and discuss what their analysis of the books are, but she was also able to learn from them and hear from different perspectives. She believes that not only does the book club improve their lives but it has tremendously improved and changed hers.
Julia Clausen
Melissa McDermott
Past Intern
Melissa McDermott is a past intern and graduated from California State University- Sacramento as a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. She had the wonderful opportunity and honor of being one of the first interns in the prison education book club. This internship fit well with her goals of becoming a Licensed Clinical Counselor and working with incarcerated or formally incarcerated individuals. She believes that programs such as these book clubs provide much needed light for people who may need it most. Melissa is excited for the future of the book club as well as all those who participated in it!
