Consulting · Speaking · Facilitation

Education.
Justice.
Possibility.

Helping organizations build pathways to education, develop community leaders, and create spaces for healing and change.

Discuss a partnership ↗Explore my services

Harvard UniversityMaster’s in Education · 2024

UC BerkeleyB.A., African-American Studies · 2022

Founder & EducatorIncarceration to College · Pathways to College

Ways to work together

Turn intention
into meaningful practice.

Practical, relationship-centered support for schools, colleges, public agencies, and community organizations. Each engagement is shaped around your people, priorities, and goals.

Keynotes & Speaking

Conversations that expand what audiences believe is possible. Explore educational opportunity, incarceration, belonging, and leadership through scholarship and lived experience.

Conferences · Campus events · Community convenings

Training & Professional Development

Equip your team to build trust, engage systems-impacted students, and bring culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices into everyday work.

Interactive workshops · Staff learning · Training series

College Pathways & Program Design

Build stronger connections between education in custody, reentry, community college, and universities. Develop a program approach, partnership strategy, and implementation plan.

Program planning · Partnership development · Implementation support

Curriculum Development

Design or strengthen college readiness, leadership, and youth development learning experiences informed by Black feminist pedagogies and students’ lived realities.

Curriculum review · Workshop design · Facilitator preparation

Leadership & Organizational Development

Support peer mentors, credible messengers, and emerging leaders. Facilitate team retreats, restorative conversations, and planning sessions that build shared direction.

Leadership coaching · Team facilitation · Strategic planning

A dedicated area of practice

Domestic Violence
Education & Training

As a certified domestic violence facilitator, I offer educational workshops and facilitated conversations that support awareness, healthy relationships, and accountability.

Recognizing domestic violence and intimate partner violence
Understanding power and control
Supporting survivors with care and respect
Healthy relationships, accountability, and healing

Explore training for your team ↗

Meet Shani

Lived experience.
Academic insight.
Community commitment.

BerkeleyUndergraduate education

HarvardGraduate education

I’m Shani Shay, M.Ed.—an educator, consultant, speaker, and certified domestic violence facilitator. My work is rooted in the belief that people deserve educational opportunities, meaningful relationships, and the support to shape their futures.

As the founder and director of Incarceration to College and Pathways to College, I work to expand higher education access for incarcerated and systems-impacted youth. My approach brings together Black feminist pedagogies, culturally affirming teaching, and trauma-informed practice.

As a formerly incarcerated Black woman and survivor of domestic violence, I bring lived experience alongside my academic training. I partner with organizations ready to turn their commitment to education, justice, and community into practical action.

2024 Harvard Intellectual Contribution Award ↗

Professional background

Credentials

Education, leadership, research, and recognition across college access and justice.

Education

Harvard Graduate School of Education · Master’s in Education, 2024
UC Berkeley · B.A. in African American Studies, minor in Education, 2022
Laney College · Associate Degree for Transfer, 2019

Leadership & professional experience

Founder and director, Incarceration to College and Pathways to College
Advocacy co-chair, Berkeley Underground Scholars
President, Black Underground Scholars at UC Berkeley
Intimate partner violence and restorative justice facilitation, RJOY
Reentry navigator, California Justice Leaders
Staff development facilitator, Rising Scholars and the Contra Costa and Santa Cruz county offices of education
Youth curriculum and workshop facilitation, RYSE and Berkeley Youth Alternatives
Led and supported fundraising initiatives for college access, reentry, basic needs, and wellness

Teaching & facilitation

Certified domestic violence facilitator
Instructional training and curriculum development, UC Berkeley School of Education’s San Quentin bachelor’s program
Instructional training and curriculum development, Teach in Prison at San Quentin, 2021–2022

Fellowships & research

Rockwood Fellowship for Leaders in Higher Education in Prison, 2025–2026
Executive coaching participant, Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2024
Elder Freeman Policy Fellowship
Firebaugh Scholar, UC Berkeley, 2020–2021
Research interests include educational aspirations among incarcerated youth, caring curriculum, liberatory pedagogies, and Black feminist pedagogies.

Awards & honors

2024 Harvard Graduate School of Education Intellectual Contribution Award
2024 Alameda County Probation Department Commitment to Excellence Award
2024 University of California Berkeley Excellence in Management Award
2022 African-American Studies Department Citation Award
2022 Mather Good Citizen Award
2021-2022 Willie Horn Jr Scholar
2021-2022 Veve Clark Scholar
2020-2021 Elder Freeman Policy Fellow
2020-2021 Cal Alumni Leadership Award
2020 California Women in Leadership
2020- Educational Opportunity Program Achievement Award
2020-2021 Firebaugh Scholar
2020 Center for Education, Equity, and Excellence Award
2019 Center for Education, Equity, and Excellence Award
2019 African-American Studies Department Award
2019 Laney College Honor Roll Award
2019 Educational Opportunity Program Achievement Award

Research writing

Incarceration to College: Effective teaching methods for Incarcerated Youth
Making them seen again: Increasing visibility for Incarcerated Youth (Forthcoming)

Selected presentations & invited talks

2026. Building Ecosystems of Opportunity in Prison Education: Centering Lived Experience. Panelist, Grantmakers for Education Annual Conference, New York, NY.
2026. Incarcerated Youth as Civic Authors. Featured Presenter, Justice Education Project x Incarceration to College, UC Berkeley Law Criminal Law & Justice Center, virtual webinar.
2026. 56th Annual JCCASAC Conference. Featured Speaker, Juvenile Court, Community, and Alternative School Administrators of California, San Francisco, CA.
2025. Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series. Invited Speaker, National Park Service, Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, CA.
2025. Supporting Systems-Impacted and Incarcerated Youth. Presenter, National Symposium on Juvenile Justice Services.
2024. Transformative Opportunities through Dual Enrollment for Juvenile Justice Impacted Students: Pedagogy and Practice. Panelist, Pathways to Higher Education Conference, Youth Law Center.
2024. Supporting Incarcerated and Systems-Impacted Youth—No Matter Where They Are. Presenter, National Association of Community and Restorative Justice Conference.
2024. Berkeley Underground Scholars: Closing the Distance from Prison to Campus and Beyond. Presenter, National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE).
2023. Tech and Justice: Navigating Harms in the Digital Age. Panelist, UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity.
2023. Liberatory Pedagogy, Building Community and Partnership. Co-Presenter, Juvenile Court, Community, and Alternative School Administrators of California Conference.
2023. Promising Practices for Incarcerated Youth. Presenter, Rising Scholars Network, California.
2023. Nurturing Success among Formerly Incarcerated Youth. Presenter, Rising Scholars Network, Butte College, CA.
2022. Bridging the Gap between College Aspirations and Post-Secondary Degrees: The Effectiveness of the Incarceration to College Program. Presenter, Juvenile Court, Community, and Continuation School Administrators of California Conference, Newport, CA.
2022. Teaching Methods for Black, Brown, and Incarcerated Youth. Presenter, California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators, Oakland, CA.
2022. Bridging the Gap between College Aspirations and Post-Secondary Degrees: The Effectiveness of the Incarceration to College Program. Presenter, Veve Clark Scholar Program, Berkeley, CA.
2022. Bridging the Gap between College Aspirations and Post-Secondary Degrees: The Effectiveness of the Incarceration to College Program. African-American Studies Honors Thesis Presentation, UC Berkeley.
2020. Bridging the Gap between College Aspirations and Post-Secondary Degrees: The Effectiveness of the Incarceration to College Program. Presenter, Firebaugh Scholar Program, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.