I currently manage access routes into higher education from further education for South East Technological University (SETU) and am vice-chair of Universities of Sanctuary Ireland (UoSI). My academic background is in Adult and Community education and my PhD was a creative exploration of educational exclusion from the perspective of youth at-risk and people in prison. I have been working with prisoners and former prisoners since 2010 and have been the principal investigator on multiple participatory research and arts-based projects exploring and communicating the stories and experiences from a segment of the population who are often overlooked in public discourse. I am passionate about transformative education as a pathway out of crime and played a key role in the establishment of the Mountjoy Prison and Maynooth University Strategic Partnership (MJMU), and “The Footbridge to the Pathway Project” in Portlaoise Prison.