About Us
Founded in 2012, TTEF connects incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people pursuing a higher education with targeted resources, with an emphasis on a liberal arts education. Democratizing access to higher education is a powerful and effective way to support rehabilitation and reentry. TTEF aims to reverse the school-to-prison pipeline by:
- Conducting in-prison workshops about applying to college and for financial aid with a criminal record.
- Awarding annual scholarships of up to $1,000 to those who have been accepted to post-secondary institutions
- Providing awardees with personal mentors who have traveled a similar path.
- Partnering with the the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) and Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) to offer college credit courses at the Maximum Security Facility in Rhode Island. These courses count as credit towards an associate’s degree.
Andres Idarraga, President
Andres Idarraga believes education can transform lives and circumstances. He was raised in the Pawtucket and Central Falls areas of Rhode Island and was incarcerated as a young man. In prison, Mr. Idarraga tutored other inmates pursing their G.E.D. while taking classes from the New England Institute of Technology and the Community College of Rhode Island. After his incarceration, he pursued his education at the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, and Yale University. He has volunteered with the National Urban Debate League and founded a program while at Yale Law School that sends law students into local high schools to teach a full year of Constitutional Law. During law school, he was selected as a Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellow. Mr. Idarraga is committed to helping others chart their own path to higher education during and after periods of incarceration.
Andres Idarraga believes education can transform lives and circumstances. He was raised in the Pawtucket and Central Falls areas of Rhode Island and was incarcerated as a young man. In prison, Mr. Idarraga tutored other inmates pursing their G.E.D. while taking classes from the New England Institute of Technology and the Community College of Rhode Island. After his incarceration, he pursued his education at the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, and Yale University. He has volunteered with the National Urban Debate League and founded a program while at Yale Law School that sends law students into local high schools to teach a full year of Constitutional Law. During law school, he was selected as a Paul and Daisy Soros New American Fellow. Mr. Idarraga is committed to helping others chart their own path to higher education during and after periods of incarceration.
Noah Kilroy, Secretary
Noah Kilroy struggled with his identity as a youth. This struggle led to Mr. Kilroy making bad choices, including dropping out of school. He was ultimately incarcerated for drug-dealing offenses. While in prison, Mr. Kilroy learned the importance of education, more specifically, knowledge of one's self. By identifying the root of the maladaptive behavior that led him to jail, Mr. Kilroy was able to gain the confidence to transcend his circumstances through formal education. After obtaining his G.E.D. in prison, Mr. Kilroy went on to attend the Community College of Rhode Island, Salve Regina University, University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law, and earn his law degree from Roger Williams School of Law. At Detriot-Mercy, he founded a debate club for Detroit city youth. Today, Mr.Kilroy is a practicing attorney in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Noah Kilroy struggled with his identity as a youth. This struggle led to Mr. Kilroy making bad choices, including dropping out of school. He was ultimately incarcerated for drug-dealing offenses. While in prison, Mr. Kilroy learned the importance of education, more specifically, knowledge of one's self. By identifying the root of the maladaptive behavior that led him to jail, Mr. Kilroy was able to gain the confidence to transcend his circumstances through formal education. After obtaining his G.E.D. in prison, Mr. Kilroy went on to attend the Community College of Rhode Island, Salve Regina University, University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law, and earn his law degree from Roger Williams School of Law. At Detriot-Mercy, he founded a debate club for Detroit city youth. Today, Mr.Kilroy is a practicing attorney in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Bruce Reilly, Treasurer
Bruce Reilly is a graduate of Tulane Law School, a writer, and a founding member of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM). Bruce provides expert analysis on discrimination in employment, housing, and voting rights. He served as a jailhouse lawyer (1993-2005) before his release, and a 2-hour bus ride to a minimum wage job. Bruce put his knowledge to work by joining Direct Action for Rights & Equality (DARE) in Rhode Island, from 2005-2012, and played a vital role in passing significant criminal justice reforms, such as the restoration of voting rights, eliminating mandatory minimums, statewide Ban the Box, the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Act, unshackling pregnant prisoners, and probation violation reform. In 2011, Bruce moved to New Orleans to attend law school, joined VOTE, and replicated a similar role in policy reform and movement building in Louisiana. Bruce co-founded Transcending Through Education Foundation (TTEF) with two other formerly incarcerated friends who also entered prison at a young age, and earned law degrees after being released. He is also the author of "Communities, Evictions, and Criminal Convictions," a foundational report on public housing. Bruce serves on the board of All Square, a reentry/restaurant program in Minneapolis; the National Clean Slate Clearinghouse Advisory Committee; the IRB for American Institutes of Research; and advisory board of Prison Policy Initiative. Bruce has also worked as an artist, lighting designer, DJ, and theater director.
Bruce Reilly is a graduate of Tulane Law School, a writer, and a founding member of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM). Bruce provides expert analysis on discrimination in employment, housing, and voting rights. He served as a jailhouse lawyer (1993-2005) before his release, and a 2-hour bus ride to a minimum wage job. Bruce put his knowledge to work by joining Direct Action for Rights & Equality (DARE) in Rhode Island, from 2005-2012, and played a vital role in passing significant criminal justice reforms, such as the restoration of voting rights, eliminating mandatory minimums, statewide Ban the Box, the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Act, unshackling pregnant prisoners, and probation violation reform. In 2011, Bruce moved to New Orleans to attend law school, joined VOTE, and replicated a similar role in policy reform and movement building in Louisiana. Bruce co-founded Transcending Through Education Foundation (TTEF) with two other formerly incarcerated friends who also entered prison at a young age, and earned law degrees after being released. He is also the author of "Communities, Evictions, and Criminal Convictions," a foundational report on public housing. Bruce serves on the board of All Square, a reentry/restaurant program in Minneapolis; the National Clean Slate Clearinghouse Advisory Committee; the IRB for American Institutes of Research; and advisory board of Prison Policy Initiative. Bruce has also worked as an artist, lighting designer, DJ, and theater director.
Matt Jerzyk, Board Member
Matt Jerzyk is the City Solicitor of Central Falls and previously served as senior counsel for the Mayor of Providence and Deputy City Solicitor of Providence. He has served as legal counsel to the Providence Planning Board, the Providence City Council Committee on Ordinances, the House of Representatives' Committee on Small Business and the House of Representatives' Committee on Labor Matt received his B.A. and graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and received his law degree from Roger Williams University School of Law. Before entering the legal profession, Matt was the founding executive director of Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, a consultant for the Governor’s Commission on Race, Police and Community Relations and an organizer with District 1199 of the Service Employees.
Matt Jerzyk is the City Solicitor of Central Falls and previously served as senior counsel for the Mayor of Providence and Deputy City Solicitor of Providence. He has served as legal counsel to the Providence Planning Board, the Providence City Council Committee on Ordinances, the House of Representatives' Committee on Small Business and the House of Representatives' Committee on Labor Matt received his B.A. and graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and received his law degree from Roger Williams University School of Law. Before entering the legal profession, Matt was the founding executive director of Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, a consultant for the Governor’s Commission on Race, Police and Community Relations and an organizer with District 1199 of the Service Employees.
Mimi Budnick, Board Member
Mimi Budnick is no stranger to the Adult Correctional Institutions and issues dealing with reentry. She served for a decade as an organizer for the Behind the Walls committee at Direct Action for Rights & Equality (DARE). She was a key figure in various community-wide efforts, including the restoration of voting rights, improving prison conditions, and reforming sentencing practices. The Behind the Walls Committee served as the foundation for reentry among civic-minded people. Ms. Budnick is now pursuing her Masters in Education at the University of Rhode Island, with a focus on advanced adult education.
Mimi Budnick is no stranger to the Adult Correctional Institutions and issues dealing with reentry. She served for a decade as an organizer for the Behind the Walls committee at Direct Action for Rights & Equality (DARE). She was a key figure in various community-wide efforts, including the restoration of voting rights, improving prison conditions, and reforming sentencing practices. The Behind the Walls Committee served as the foundation for reentry among civic-minded people. Ms. Budnick is now pursuing her Masters in Education at the University of Rhode Island, with a focus on advanced adult education.
Shon Hopwood, Board Member
Shon Hopwood is a fellow at the Georgetown Law Appellate Litigation Clinic. He received a J.D. as a Gates Public Service Law Scholar from the University of Washington School of Law. He served as a law clerk for Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Shon's unusual legal journey began prior to him attending law school and included the U.S. Supreme Court granting two petitions for certiorari he prepared while incarcerated in federal prison. His articles have been published in the Atlantic.com, Seattle Times, and Huffington Post; and he provided written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of federal sentencing reform. Shon's legal scholarship has been published in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties, Fordham, and Washington Law Reviews, as well as the Georgetown Law Journal's Annual Review of Criminal Procedure.
Shon Hopwood is a fellow at the Georgetown Law Appellate Litigation Clinic. He received a J.D. as a Gates Public Service Law Scholar from the University of Washington School of Law. He served as a law clerk for Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Shon's unusual legal journey began prior to him attending law school and included the U.S. Supreme Court granting two petitions for certiorari he prepared while incarcerated in federal prison. His articles have been published in the Atlantic.com, Seattle Times, and Huffington Post; and he provided written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of federal sentencing reform. Shon's legal scholarship has been published in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties, Fordham, and Washington Law Reviews, as well as the Georgetown Law Journal's Annual Review of Criminal Procedure.
James Monteiro, Board Member
James Monteiro is the founder and director of the Prison Bridge Program, and a 2015 Echoing Green Fellow. He works both within and outside the Adult Correction Institution of Rhode Island to ensure that adults in transition homes have a college degree pathway that is integrated into the support systems needed upon release. James dropped out of school in the eighth grade and spent most of his adult life in and out of the penal system. The last time James was incarcerated he was doing a ten year sentence in one of the country’s most violent prison systems, Baltimore Maryland’s Penitentiary. It was there that James first went back to school earning an Associate’s degree in Psychology with Honors and, and upon release, earned a bachelor’s degree in Community Development at Roger Williams University’s College Unbound program. James has won the Rhode Island NAACP Joseph Lecount Award for his work founding the Billy Taylor House; a program that provides workforce development and enrichment opportunities to youth ages fifteen to twenty-one in James’ childhood neighborhood, the Mount Hope community of Providence. He has been named as one of Rhode Island’s “15 to Watch” for his work in youth programs that address violence in the city and prepare the next generation of Providence leaders.
James Monteiro is the founder and director of the Prison Bridge Program, and a 2015 Echoing Green Fellow. He works both within and outside the Adult Correction Institution of Rhode Island to ensure that adults in transition homes have a college degree pathway that is integrated into the support systems needed upon release. James dropped out of school in the eighth grade and spent most of his adult life in and out of the penal system. The last time James was incarcerated he was doing a ten year sentence in one of the country’s most violent prison systems, Baltimore Maryland’s Penitentiary. It was there that James first went back to school earning an Associate’s degree in Psychology with Honors and, and upon release, earned a bachelor’s degree in Community Development at Roger Williams University’s College Unbound program. James has won the Rhode Island NAACP Joseph Lecount Award for his work founding the Billy Taylor House; a program that provides workforce development and enrichment opportunities to youth ages fifteen to twenty-one in James’ childhood neighborhood, the Mount Hope community of Providence. He has been named as one of Rhode Island’s “15 to Watch” for his work in youth programs that address violence in the city and prepare the next generation of Providence leaders.
Cherie Cruz, Board Member
Cherie Cruz has transcended her own personal and family history of incarceration to ultimately earn a Masters degree in Urban Education Policy from Brown University. Her main interests and research revolve around the School-to-Prison pipeline and police in schools. She currently is the RI System of Care Family/Youth Leadership Coordinator for the Dept. of Children Youth & Families through Parent Support Network. Ms. Cruz also sits on other various boards: RI ACLU, RI Welcome Back Center, and the RI Executive Committee on Trauma Informed Care. She previously worked as a reentry case manager with Open Doors, which focused on mentorship and education. Ms. Cruz has provided valuable support for numerous organizations throughout the state.
Cherie Cruz has transcended her own personal and family history of incarceration to ultimately earn a Masters degree in Urban Education Policy from Brown University. Her main interests and research revolve around the School-to-Prison pipeline and police in schools. She currently is the RI System of Care Family/Youth Leadership Coordinator for the Dept. of Children Youth & Families through Parent Support Network. Ms. Cruz also sits on other various boards: RI ACLU, RI Welcome Back Center, and the RI Executive Committee on Trauma Informed Care. She previously worked as a reentry case manager with Open Doors, which focused on mentorship and education. Ms. Cruz has provided valuable support for numerous organizations throughout the state.
Andrew Horwitz, Advisory Board
Andy Horwitz is a professor at Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island. Professor Horwitz serves as Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic, in which law students represent indigent criminal defendants in pending misdemeanor cases, and also teaches criminal law and criminal procedure. He serves on several other Boards of Directors, including Open Doors Rhode Island, City Year Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and he remains active in many other organizations, including Operation Stand Down and the NAACP. Prior to joining the RWU faculty, Professor Horwitz was a public defender in Brooklyn, NY.
Andy Horwitz is a professor at Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island. Professor Horwitz serves as Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic, in which law students represent indigent criminal defendants in pending misdemeanor cases, and also teaches criminal law and criminal procedure. He serves on several other Boards of Directors, including Open Doors Rhode Island, City Year Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and he remains active in many other organizations, including Operation Stand Down and the NAACP. Prior to joining the RWU faculty, Professor Horwitz was a public defender in Brooklyn, NY.