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white collar week

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X : Tom Hardin

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
A Podcast Serving the White Collar Justice Community

Limited 10-Episode Run: Summer 2020

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

_______________________

Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Today on the podcast we have Tom Hardin, best known in the financial and legal worlds as “Tipper-X”.

Tom previously spent much of his career as a hedge fund stock analyst. In 2008, as part of a cooperation agreement with the Department of Justice, Tom assisted the U.S. government in understanding how insider trading occurred in the investment management industry. Tom became one of the most prolific informants in securities fraud history, helping to build over 20 of the 80+ individual criminal cases in “Operation Perfect Hedge,” a Wall Street house cleaning campaign that morphed into the largest insider trading investigation of a generation.

Tom’s a fascinating guy – he goes into his personal history and family, much deeper than he does in his corporate presentations, He’s a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Monday evenings, so we know his story well. In this podcast, I think you will learn a lot about Tom – and maybe something about yourself too?

So, coming up – Tom Hardin, Tipper-X.

I hope you will join us. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Watch on YouTube:

 Listen on SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/whitecollarweek/white-collar-week-with-jeff-grant-podcast-ep-04-one-on-one-with-tipper-x-tom-hardin

 

Guest on this Episode:

Tom Hardin previously spent much of his career as a hedge fund stock analyst. In 2008, as part of a cooperation agreement with the Department of Justice, Tom assisted the U.S. government in understanding how insider trading occurred in the investment management industry. Known as “Tipper X,” Tom became one of the most prolific informants in securities fraud history, helping to build over 20 of the 80+ individual criminal cases in “Operation Perfect Hedge,” a Wall Street house cleaning campaign that morphed into the largest insider trading investigation of a generation. After resolving his case in 2015, Tom was invited by FBI-NYC to speak to their rookie agent class in 2016 and is now an international corporate trainer and keynote speaker on conduct risk, corporate culture and compliance topics from his former front-line perspective. He holds a B.S. in Economics with a Finance concentration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  Tom Hardin can be reached at tipperx.com, [email protected].

______________________

You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

____________________________

Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff


______________________________

All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

______________________________

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

In this very eventful summer 2020, our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different this summer – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! [email protected]

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

_________________________

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

 

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
A Podcast Serving the White Collar Justice Community

Limited 10 Show Run: Summer 2020

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

_________________________

Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

 

Today on the podcast we have two friends of mine, Trevor Shevin and Joshua Cagney – two guys who had it all. lost it all, got sober and then became nationally recognized specialists in interventions and addiction recovery.

Trevor was a Wall Street guy, witnessed 9/11, got sober soon after and attended recovery meetings with me in Greenwich, CT, where he went on to found Sterling Recovery Services. He’s doing incredible work that he talks all about on the podcast.

Joshua has a different story. He was a tech professional who got drunk one night, got in a car wreck where someone got killed, for which he spent over seven years in a Virginia state prison for vehicular homicide. Like Trevor, his story became one of soul searching and recovery. He joined our White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings, and then co-founded New Paradigm Recovery in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Two incredible guys, two incredible stories. I hope you will join us. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Watch on YouTube:

Listen on SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/whitecollarweek/white-collar-week-ep-02-substance-abuse-recovery-guests-trevor-shevin-joshua-cagney

 

Guests on this Episode:

Trevor Shevin is the Principal and Founder of Sterling Recovery Services.  Sterling was founded on a guiding principle: Always provide clients and their families with the utmost in personalized, professional care while treating them with integrity, dignity and respect.  His client-centric approach is palpable and permeates throughout each fiber of the organization. Combining years of experience with mentoring, coaching and a successful career on Wall Street for over a decade, Trevor continuously demonstrates his innate talent for conducting highly successful interventions with positive outcomes amongst even the most extreme, complicated cases.  

Trevor is a Certified Interventionist Professional (CIP), MBA and also provides Consultative and Intensive Case Management services to individuals, families and corporations globally. He also graduated from the 350 hour NCADD CASAC program where he was designated valedictorian of his class.  Trevor facilitates treatment by teaching the mechanics and skills necessary to cope with personal addiction and mental health restoration while developing personalized programs that are necessary for long-term recovery.

After years in the field developing a stellar reputation working with many prestigious families, companies and institutions in the United States and overseas, he decided to bring to life his own vision by launching Sterling Recovery Services. Sterling provides comprehensive recovery services including Interventions, Clinical Intensive Case Management, Assessments, Family Education services, Nutrition Counseling, Yoga, Outpatient Recovery Groups, Sober Companions and Sober Escorts. Sterling also offers community outreach programs, lectures and trainings. Previously Trevor served as a Partner and the Director of Intensive Case Management Services for two other substance abuse and mental health recovery companies. 

Trevor is actively involved in the community and has dedicated his life both personally and professionally to being of service.  He is on the nonprofit Boards for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) Westchester and Dogaholix (providing vocational re-entry for young adults in recovery).  Trevor is a lecturer to CASAC students and runs groups for Executives integrating professional, personal and spiritual growth, as well as for recovering alcoholics and addicts focusing on life adjustment issues.  He is frequently requested to speak about the destructive patterns of addiction and the path to recovery at international conferences and throughout the United States at inpatient recovery facilities, hospitals, prisons, schools and local town events. Trevor Shevin can be reached at sterlingrecovery.com.

Joshua Cagney is the Chief Operating Officer, and one of the principals of New Paradigm Recovery, LLC.  New Paradigm Recovery is a dual diagnosis intensive outpatient program located in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.  Additionally, he serves as a group facilitator for the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center in a pilot alcohol and substance use disorder therapeutic community program.

Mr. Cagney began a career in information technology over 20 years ago, which came to a halt in late 2003.  A tragic turn of events came as the result of his lifestyle choices; the effects of which were profound and far-reaching.  In an effort to bring some semblance of reason to this twist of life, he undertook a change in direction and has followed that altered course ever since.

Joshua holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Business Law from Ohio University.  He also holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where he has completed post-graduate work in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Joshua is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership.

Joshua has been employed as a graduate assistant and adjunct instructor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program at The Chicago School.  In addition, he has worked as a Behavioral Therapist with juveniles diagnosed with developmental disabilities and traumatic abuse histories, and as a not-for-profit Program Director in the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.  He is a past council member for the Loudoun Re-entry and Advisory Council, which provides advice and support on offender reentry issues. 

Outside of his professional work, Mr. Cagney serves as a volunteer speaker for Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Northern Virginia and of Washington, D.C., Loudoun Community Corrections.  He is regularly invited to speak on topics ranging from the collateral consequences of criminal sentencing to the responsibilities associated with the use of alcohol and narcotics.  Audiences include the Washington Redskins, the United States Army, students at James Madison University and local public and private schools, among other venues. Joshua Cagney can be reached at nprecovery.com.

______________________

You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

____________________________

Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:

Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff

______________________________

All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

______________________________

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

In this very eventful summer 2020, our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different this summer – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! [email protected]

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering: Todd Nixon

Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com

_________________________

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

 

A White Collar Letter: What I Learned in the SHU (Solitary) , by T.F., in a Federal Prison Camp

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TF is serving his sentence in a Federal prison camp. Before he went to prison, he was a regular member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings, 7:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm MT, 4:00 pm PT. We celebrated our 200th consecutive weekly online meeting on Monday, April 13, 2020.

____________________

 

Dear Jeff, Please post this letter on prisonist.org. Thank you! T.F.

In May 20 I was handcuffed at the Camp and taken to the Special Housing Unit (SHU) which is located at the High-Security Penitentiary about 1/2 mile from the Camp. I was in the SHU for 14 days, returning on June 3. This blog/letter is only about my SHU experience; the bogus incident itself is an entirely different subject. The SHU is harsh by design so prisoners understand there are consequences for unacceptable behavior, or simply to convey a message that prisoners will be controlled by staff and guards.

 

 

Fortunately I had a very good cellmate named Juan, a 26 year-old Hispanic man who was clean, respectful, quiet, and needed to improve his English. Juan was born in the US, but his mother and sisters now live in Mexico (his father died at 42-yrs old, two weeks after Juan began serving his sentence). We played word games and used over 4,000 letters in 13 days! Juan has served 5 years of a 6-year sentence; he was waiting to be released to a Halfway House when it was discovered that he posted two pictures to Facebook 8 months ago when he first arrived at the Camp. His punishment – transfer to a low-security prison, add 40 days to his sentence, an additional 14 days in the SHU, and loss of Commissary, phones, and email for 6 months. His record over 5 years at three different prisons was excellent. He was so excited to see his son who was born a couple of weeks before he was incarcerated – he’s had no visits during his entire 5 years of being imprisoned. I had the privilege of praying with Juan several times while we were in the SHU together, and I am fully aware that my time in the SHU was redeemed for Juan’s sake.

 

 

The SHU is for disciplining prisoners; the duration may be a day or two or up to a month but the average is two weeks. During the SHU period prisoners are given a hearing before a Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) who determines guilt/innocence and assesses the discipline. (In my case, I was originally cited for 4 violations but the DHO dismissed three of them and levied only a minor violation and took away visiting privileges for 30 days which she knew was moot since visiting will continue to be suspended for at least 30 days due to COVID-19. My DHO Hearing was on Day 12 and I was returned to the Camp in two days.

 

 

The SHU at the penn has 8 SHU units (A – H) and each unit has 20 – 30 highly secure prison cells. Each cell has a sink, bunkbeds, small desk (1′ x 2′), shower, toilet, and a door slot for food which allows the cells to ‘self-contain’ the prisoners so there is no reason for them to leave the cell. Every fixture is either steel or concrete. I was allowed out of the cell 3 times in 14 days; once to move to a different cell (5 minutes) and two other times for one hour of “outdoor recreation” which consisted of walking in an empty cage measuring 20′ x 30′.

 

 

The SHU cell is approximately 115 SF (approx 7.5 x 14). It has a small window measuring 1 foot wide and 5 feet tall, which is enough to get some daylight. No wristwatches are allowed and there are no clocks so I learned to monitor the time by asking a guard what time it was, then marking that time on paper by using the position of a shadow on the outside wall which caused by the sun. The wall outside my window was about 10′ tall and had 3 lines on the wall. The shadow was on the top line at 6a and on the bottom line at 7a. The shadow then moved across the ground and came to a rock pile at 9:30a, and finally the shadow was against the building at 11a. As the sun moved to the afternoon a new series of shadows were created which allowed me to know the approximate time until sunset around 7:45p.

 

 

I was “stripped out” upon arriving at the SHU, meaning I stood naked in front of a guard and “proved” I wasn’t hiding any items in/on my body. I put on the classic orange prison shirt and pants (Camp uniform is tan), one pair of underwear, one t-shirt, a pair of socks, and a pair of shower shoes (similar to Crocs). A few days later I was given one extra change of clothes to last one week. I wore my underwear in the shower so I could wash them. Bedding was a sheet and blanket, with no exchanges. One wash cloth and one towel were issued. Toiletries included two travel-size deodorants and shampoo, two bars of soap, and a full-size toothpaste with a mini-toothbrush. Two rolls of toilet paper per week were provided with no additional rolls issued. One travel-size container of disinfectant was issued for the entire week to keep the room sanitary, which I interpret as the BOP’s willingness to have prisoners be exposed to disease as part of the punishment.

 

 

Meals were provided three times per day; 7a, 11a, and 4p. The 4p dinner was usually a bologna sandwich and a handful of potato chips. I learned to save the piece of cake that was usually part of breakfast or lunch which I would eat around 8p so I wouldn’t be too hungry when I went to sleep at 10p. I lost 5 pounds in 14 days (185 down to 180), but I quickly regained those 5 pounds when I got back to the camp. (I weighed 208 pounds when I was incarcerated in October).

 

 

Communicating with my wife and others was virtually impossible. BOP policy affords a prisoner two 15-minute calls per month while in the SHU (standard for prisoners ranges from 300-500 minutes per month), however I was denied any calls for all 14 days despite making 7 written requests. The guards refused to provide any explanation for the denial, other than the last two nights when ALL phones were disabled by the BOP nationally due to the civil unrest from the murder of George Floyd. I was provided with 3 mailing envelopes, 5 pieces of paper and two small pencils (the size used for scoring golf). A sharpener for the pencils was not provided so I used my fingernail to ‘sharpen’ it. Stamps could only be purchased through Commissary which was only allowed after I was in the SHU for 12 days. The BOP’s policy and practices regarding SHU prisoners being so severely restricted from communicating with their family is reprehensible, but fortunately the light is shining brightly on their immoral behavior and I choose to believe that reform is in the air.

 

 

A small library cart came down the aisle on Fridays and each prisoner was allowed to select one book for the week. I was not allowed to bring my reading glasses from the Camp, but was told I could buy a new pair on Commissary day (again, 12 days after I arrived.) I read the Bible a lot which is always a good thing.

 

 

A routine is really important in the SHU, and using the time to think positively is critical. I spent time thinking and planning for the time I’m released. Bonnie and I returning home to Florida is my top priority. I started making plans last fall while waiting for my Sentencing in mid-December. I have draft plans for staying in my industry. I worked on those plans while sitting in the SHU. I’ve learned to focus on the past only as it helps me remember the direction I was heading before hitting this detour, but the detour will end and I will get back on my path again a little wiser, a little more humble, but still the same me that I’ve always been. 

 

 

The lights came on at 6 am, followed by breakfast at 7 am. I would doze again until around 9:30 am then I would write or read. Lunch was at 11 am which was followed by some light conversation with Juan and playing some Hangman. Some of the other inmates would hold conversations by hollering through the cracks in the door, and Juan would translate for me since 80% of the SHU inmates were Hispanic. Dinner was at 4 pm, followed by some more conversation and Hangman. A newspaper was shared by the inmates using string pulled from the blankets and made into a sort of fishing line. The line was connected to a flattened tube of toothpaste which was rubbed with some soap so the tube (with the connected line) would scoot rapidly under the doors and across the aisle pulling the newspaper along. Lights out at 10 pm, and another day done. 

 

 

The BOP mind games are designed to be unsettling. The guards and leaders would not tell me when I would have my DHO hearing or when I would be returned to the Camp — one leader suggested that I “might be shipped away from the Camp” which I knew was a lie designed to intimidate me. One thing I’ve learned is to remain calm and strong because the BOP is constantly working to manipulate prisoners as a means of control (somewhat understandable). All prisoners want to do is to do their time and go home to their families, but many of the BOP staff live in their fantasy world of over-importance and relevance that no prisoner respects. I have come to realize that prisoners see their plight as temporary and something to be endured and overcome, but many staff members see their position as permanent, significant, and a way-of-life. In my experience, many of the guards and staff are the moral-equivalent of police officers employed by Sodom & Gomorrah; they are delusional in thinking their employment is noble.

 

 

The guards were a mixed bag, as all guards are. Some are quiet, some are helpful and respectful, but others are mean-spirited, immature, and low-lifes far worse than the worst prisoner I’ve encountered in my 8-month journey through 4 jails and the Camp, and now the SHU. Three guards were talking next to me at the outdoor cage where I was placed while waiting to be “processed” into the SHU. They began a foul-mouthed discussion (common speak for prisoners and guards alike) about the idiocy of wearing face masks. The conversation took a filthy turn when one guard told the other two that he uses his wife’s “feminine napkin” for a mask, to which the other guard replied he did the same thing – except he painted his red down the center. That led all three of them to have a jovial conversation about their various sex acts with their wives during their cycle. WHO TALKS LIKE THIS WITH THEIR CO-WORKERS AND IN FRONT OF A TOTAL STRANGER??!!?? I’ve heard plenty of locker room talk in my time and I certainly have heard more filthy conversation in the past 8 months than I have in my entire life of 50 years, but these guards and others like them are at a level that not even the worst prisoners I’ve met come close to being. I’ve learned that prison in many ways is more harmful to guards than it is to prisoners.

 

 

On my second day in the SHU another guard looked at my I.D. (BOP mug shot) which was on the outside of the door as he was handing my food through the slot. He barked loudly for all the prisoners and other guards to hear, “well – who do we have here? And then he yelled my name. Wow – we don’t get to see too many mug shots with a guy in a suit! He looks awful important! Let’s guess what he did – maybe insurance – nah. Real estate – maybe. Kinda’ looks like a lawyer – wouldn’t that be something!” I remained silent as I took my food tray. He then said, “come on – tell us who you are.” I sat down and ate my food, never giving him the satisfaction of even a glance. After he walked away and returned to his work station, the other prisoners who knew me from the Camp told me not to let that bother me — they know I am a good man.

 

 

It’s interesting how the SHU bonded the prisoners together in solidarity. Not necessarily against the guards, but rather with each other. We were struggling against oppression individually and together. Like the bonding that occurs in the military, especially when soldiers are in the trenches. And how religion (any religion) grows stronger when Believers are oppressed, beaten, imprisoned, or martyred. Togetherness makes the struggle more meaningful.

 

 

When I returned to the Camp I was treated as an Overcomer – I am now “one of them”, a real prisoner. I went to the SHU at a high-security prison for two weeks, and came back stronger. Another experience in my fascinating journey. I’m not sure how God will use all this experience, but I know He has a plan and a purpose and I’m looking forward to experiencing further redemption. God is good. All the time.

_________________________

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 01: 16 Members of Our White Collar Support Group Tell Their Stories

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White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

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Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group

This is a very special podcast – we have on 16 members of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Zoom on Monday nights, 7 pm Eastern, 4 pm Pacific. We have held over 200 weekly meetings and they get better each week as we come out of isolation and into a supportive community that truly cares about one another. We have welcomed over 200 support group members along the way!

But the support group meeting on this podcast is a little different than most, because everyone appearing has agreed to share their names, faces and very personal stories in an effort to reach out to individuals and families suffering in silence. We’ve never done anything like this before as a group, but we feel the cause is so important that it was worth the risk.

I know you will learn to love and respect every member you see or hear on this podcast as much as I do. – Jeff

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on SoundCloud:

 

 Watch on YouTube:

 

Guests on this Episode Include:

Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW was a Social Worker for over 10 years and a partner in a large Title Company for over 15 years.  As an entrepreneur, Jacqueline had reached new limits of her career as an experienced professional with proven success in business and mentoring environments when a series of poor choices led her to a federal indictment and a sentence of almost a year in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women. After her release, Jacqueline entered a new phase of her life researching in depth about Mental Health, Crime and Criminal Justice while correlating it to reentry services.  This clearly grew into her passion after she had faced the many challenges of reentry.  It is clear to her that there is a lack of resources for reentry and there is a need for change.  She is working and advocating to be part of a change to come by dedicating herself to help fix this broken criminal justice system. Jacqueline is currently an integral part in helping women prepare for entry and reentry of the Federal Prison System both psychologically and spiritually through mental health services and education of the system.  She has founded Evolution Family Reentry Services and is currently building resources by establishing nurturing partnerships with professionals in the mental health fields as well as employers and career placement agencies to help women and their families who face career barriers as they re-enter into society.  You can reach Jacqueline at: http://www.evolutionreentry.com/.


Jeffrey Abramowitz, J.D. is the Executive Director of Reentry Services for JEVS Human Services and Program Director of Looking Forward Philadelphia. Jeff was a 2018 Fellow for Justleadership USA, and has most recently served as the Director of Student Services & Workforce Development for Community Learning Center. Jeff was a trial lawyer in Philadelphia before poor choices in life and his professional career resulted in acceptance of responsibility and a five-year sentence in the federal prison system. Entering the criminal justice system allowed Jeff the opportunity to see the world with a new pair of glasses and find his passion for education and workforce development. In the short 4.5 years since Jeff has been home he has worked with over 4,000 individuals, spoken and lectured across the country to educators, administrators, communities, and those touched by our criminal justice system. Jeff  proudly sits on the Executive Board of the Coalition on Basic Adult Education, COABE, where he serves as the chair of the Literacy Behind and Beyond the Walls Committee, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Reentry Council and serves as Chairman of the Employment Committee and Co-chairs the Reentry Committee for the PA Workforce Development Board. Jeff is active in the Philadelphia Reentry Coalition. Jeff serves on the board of directors of Community Forgiveness & Restoration, a member of NationSwell Council, and Advisory Board Member of Philadelphia Petey Greene Program. Jeff  is presently a LINCS Reviewer, Literacy Information & Communication System, Resource Collection, for the Department of Education, and serves on the National Association of State Directors of Education, Barbara Bush Foundation Criminal Justice Work Group. Jeff is the producer and host of the award-winning weekly radio show “Looking Forward” on Philly Cam Radio WPPM 106.5FM.  Jeffrey is a writer, keynote speaker and lecturer around the country on issues of adult education, workforce development and criminal justice. Jeff can be reached at: [email protected].
  

Joseph Grmovsek is the subject of the educational-documentary film Collared and is the first and still ONLY person in Canadian history to serve a Federal sentence of imprisonment for insider trading. He is currently the Program Director for Restorative Justice Housing Ontario, a charity that finds safe homes for elderly ex-prisoners, as well as a public speaker on issues of restorative justice and white-collar crime prevention. He can be contacted through his website CollaredConsulting.com.

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You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

 

Details and Links for this Podcast…

Information About our White Collar Support Group…

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All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 29, Guests: The Entrepreneurs, David Israel & Spencer Oberg

Link here to Podcast Ep. 28, Guests: The Investigators, Kelly Paxton & Brian Willingham

Link here to Podcast Ep. 27, The Addicted Lawyer, Guest: Brian Cuban

Link here to Podcast Ep. 26, Oppression & Identity, Guests: Jaco & Leslie Theron

Link here to Podcast Ep. 25, Ex-Philadelphia D.A., Seth Williams, Part Two

Link here to Podcast Ep. 24, Ex-Philadelphia D.A., Seth Williams, Part One

Link here to Podcast Ep. 23, The Vanishing Trial, Robert Katzberg

Link here to Podcast Ep. 22: The Goddess, with Guest: Babz Rawls Ivy

Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group: 16 of Our Support Group Members Tell Their Stories

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

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What is the White Collar Justice Community?

Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]

Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant

________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_________________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! [email protected]

_________________________

Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com

Video Engineering:

Webmaster: GreySkye Marketing, Inc.

________________________

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.I

f you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.,

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: Podcast Ep. 00: Podcast Introduction Trailer: What is White Collar Week?

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White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: A Podcast Serving the White Collar Justice Community

Limited 10 Show Run: Summer 2020

It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.

_______________________

Podcast Ep. 00: Podcast Introduction Trailer: What is White Collar Week?

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

Listen on SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/whitecollarweek/white-collar-week-with-jeff-grant-ep-0-what-is-white-collar-week

 

All Episodes:

Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson: Reinventing Yourself After Prison

Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest Richard Lee

Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix

Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals: Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola

Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim

Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood

Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott

Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni

Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine

Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: The Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland

Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb

Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson

Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett

Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell

Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria

Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X: Tom Hardin

Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering: Guests, Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz

Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19: Guests, Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney

Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: Prison & Reentry in the Age of COVID-19: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group.

Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?

 

Welcome to White Collar Week, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.

If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet.  Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors, – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…

In this very eventful summer 2020, our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.

Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.

So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different this summer – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.

Blessings, לשלום

Jeff

Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his) 
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]

Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant

_________________________

Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!

_______________________

Follow White Collar Week on Social:

Web: https://whitecollarweek.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek

Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek

_________________________

Follow Jeff Grant on Social:

Web: https://prisonist.org

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant

Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant

LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant

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Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?

Email us! https://[email protected]

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Credits:

Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.

Audio Engineering:

Video Engineering:

Webmaster: GreySkye Marketing, Inc.

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Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015.  Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others.  In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.

Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.

All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.

If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.

Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.