Our Team

TEJI is primarily driven by Co-Directors Lee Perlman and Carole Cafferty, a small core supporting team, and TEJI’s Computer Education Committee. Learn more about these wonderful team members below! TEJI is also made possible by its amazing network of instructors, teaching assistants, and students.

Co-Directors

**Lee Perlman, PhD**
**Co-Director**
TEJI grew out of Dr. Lee Perlman’s dedication and passion to provide incarcerated men and women with the opportunity to obtain college degrees.
Lee earned his BA from St. John’s College (Annapolis), and his MA in political philosophy at Georgetown University, before completing his doctorate at MIT in political philosophy. In 1984 Lee joined the teaching staff of the Experimental Study Group (ESG), MIT’s first freshman learning community, where he has taught for most of the last 33 years.
Lee began teaching in prisons in 2012, through Boston University’s Prison Education Program. He founded the MIT Prison Initiative in 2016 with the support of ESG. Through the initiative, Lee teaches classes to both MIT and incarcerated students at medium- to maximum-security Massachusetts Correctional Institutions.

Lee has been awarded the Irwin Sizer Award for Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education three times (1997, 2015, and 2019). He was also awarded MIT’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award in 2018.

**Carole Cafferty**
**Co-Director**
Carole Cafferty is a leader in the corrections field who has worked to equip people involved in the criminal legal system with the tools necessary to redefine their identity and reach their potential. Dedicated to promoting progressive and sustainable change, she has developed integrative programs to empower incarcerated people through therapeutic and educational opportunities, many of which have been replicated both within the United States and internationally. With over 30 years of experience working inside correctional facilities, most recently serving as Superintendent of the Middlesex Jail and House of Correction in Massachusetts, Carole has earned respect from both her colleagues and the incarcerated people she served.
Upon retirement from her career in corrections, Carole joined The Educational Justice Institute (TEJI) at MIT as Co-Director. In 2019, Carole was awarded the Irwin Sizer Award for the Most Significant Improvement to MIT Education at MIT. She is a graduate of St. Anselm College and holds a master’s degree in Correctional Administration from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she teaches in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies, which presented her the school’s Adjunct Faculty of the Year Award in 2018. Carole also teaches at Suffolk University in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Carole believes as Bryan Stevenson says, “each person is more than the worst thing they’ve ever done” and that to create systemic change, the corrections field must align itself with the ideals of redemption and restoration.

Core Supporting Team

Marisa GaetzSenior Graduate FellowMarisa is a mathematics graduate student at MIT, where she also completed her undergraduate studies in mathematics and philosophy. She has been working with TEJI in various capacities since its inception in 2017. He… — **Marisa Gaetz**
**Senior Graduate Fellow**
Marisa is a mathematics graduate student at MIT, where she also completed her undergraduate studies in mathematics and philosophy. She has been working with TEJI in various capacities since its inception in 2017. Her involvement in TEJI has included assisting in teaching Lee’s philosophical life skills courses and organizing TEJI’s portion of the Summer of HOPE program. She currently leads TEJI’s Computer Education Committee and co-leads the Brave Behind Bars web design program for incarcerated women.

**Joshua Long**
**Research Coordinator**
Joshua received his PhD from the University of Cincinnati School of Criminal Justice in 2020. He has published research on juvenile drug court evaluations, risk assessment validation, prison classification, and matching treatment to the needs of justice involved clients. He is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell where he teaches classes on the corrections system, victimology, and research methods.

MaryEllen McGorry

Program Coordinator/Education and Career Navigator

MaryEllen earned her BA in Communications, a J.D., and is certified as a principal/assistant principal in Massachusetts. She has experience in large, urban high schools, recovery high schools, and corrections education. MaryEllen has worked extensively with students struggling with substance use and co-occurring disorders. Her passion is working with students, particularly the underserved and marginalized populations. MaryEllen’s work at TEJI will be focused primarily on assisting returning citizens with education and career opportunities, and building capacity through program development and management of the Massachusetts Prison Education Consortium (MPEC), .

**Amanda Saeli**
**Program Assistant**
Amanda joined TEJI in May 2022. Her focus at TEJI ranges from supporting digital marketing to public relations. Amanda currently serves as Digital Marketing Manger at MIT Solve, and volunteers her expertise with the TEJI team. Amanda is passionate about social impact and corporate responsibility.

**Stephen Johnson**
**Technology and Social Justice Specialist**
Steven is a justice-impacted professional specializing in detail-oriented work. Starting his journey in education as a student, then TA, he's now a Product Manager. A graduate of Brave Behind Bars, he teaches coding to incarcerated students while working as the Technology and Social Justice Specialist at TEJI. With multiple tech and leadership certifications, Steven is committed to leveraging technology to tackle social issues..

**James Polese**
**Program Assistant**
James joined TEJI in a professional role in May 2021. He brings a new vision to TEJI through a different lens: James is formerly incarcerated. His focus at TEJI ranges from helping facilitate classes to promoting TEJI’s message to the general public. James is passionate about helping returning citizens re-enter the job market and giving them a second chance. He is a graduate of Lake Forest College.

**Sheila Gadbois**
**Program Assistant**
Sheila Gadbois is currently an intern with The Educational Justice Institute at MIT. She is a candidate for a Masters of Criminology at Saint Anselm College in May 2023. She is a 2022 graduate of Saint Anselm College with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, with minors in psychology and sociology. She was a 4-year member of the Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team.

Computer Education Committee

Caroline ChinComputer Education CommitteeCaroline Chin is a Research Fellow at The Educational Justice Institute, where she focuses on using empirical methods to understand factors that drive inequality and their implications on effective public pol… — **Caroline Chin**
**Computer Education Committee**
Caroline is currently pursuing a Masters of Engineering in Computer Science at MIT after completing her bachelors degree there in 2016. Previously, she worked on the Analytics team at the American Civil Liberties Union, and on the Siri team at Apple. At TEJI, Caroline researches the efficacy of prison education, with a specific focus on using empirical methods to understand factors that drive inequality. She is also interested in the implications of this research on effective public policy.

**Andrew Fishberg**
**Computer Education Committee**
Andrew Fishberg is an Aeronautics and Astronautics PhD student at MIT researching multi-agent robotics. He has previously earned a Computer Science degree from Harvey Mudd College and worked as a software engineer at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. When not tinkering with robots in the lab, Andrew loves to teach outreach courses. Within TEJI, Andrew leads a video game coding course designed to promote interest in and accessibility to programming skills.

Rebecca JacksonComputer Education CommitteeRebecca Jackson is currently a research fellow in economics. Before coming to MIT, Rebecca did criminal justice policy evaluation in Washington, D.C., worked for Prisoners Legal Services of Ithaca and volun… — **Rebecca Jackson**
**Computer Education Committee**
Rebecca is currently a Data Research Trainee at The Economist. Previously, she was Research Fellow in economics at MIT. Before coming to MIT, Rebecca did criminal justice policy evaluation in Washington, D.C., worked for Prisoners Legal Services of Ithaca, and volunteered with the Cornell Prison Education Program. She has experience teaching incarcerated students, running support groups and reentry programming for formerly incarcerated individuals and evaluating criminal justice programs and policies to assess their efficacy.

Benjamin LahnerComputer Education CommitteeBen grew up in Minnesota but moved to Boston to attend college. He completed his BS in biomedical engineering at Boston University and is currently a PhD student at MIT st… — **Benjamin Lahner**
**Computer Education Committee**
Ben grew up in Minnesota but moved to Boston to attend college. He completed his BS in biomedical engineering at Boston University and is currently a PhD student at MIT studying computational neuroscience. He explores biological and artificial intelligence by studying how both the human brain and machines perform fundamental tasks, such as processing images and sounds. In Spring 2021, Ben piloted TEJI’s first ever computer education course: an introductory Python course based on MIT’s 6.0001 curriculum.

**Scott McCain**
**Computer Education Committee**
Scott grew up in Toronto, Canada and is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Biology at MIT. He completed a B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Western Ontario, and then a M.Sc. and PhD in Biology with a focus on bioinformatics and computational modelling, at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. Scott is tutoring the Introductory Python course offered through TEJI and always on the lookout for contributing in other ways!

Martin NisserComputer Education CommitteeMartin is a PhD student in the HCI Engineering Group at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He completed a BEng in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Edinburgh,… — **Martin Nisser**
**Computer Education Committee**
Martin is a PhD student in the HCI Engineering Group at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He completed a BEng in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, and a MSc in Robotics, Systems and Control at ETH Zurich, during which he spent a year as a visiting researcher at Harvard University. Before beginning his PhD, he interned at Tesla and was a graduate trainee in the Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency. At TEJI, Martin co-leads the Brave Behind Bars web design program.

Taylor PattiComputer Education CommitteeTaylor grew up in California and Oregon, graduating from South Medford High School and earning degrees in Physics, Mathematics, and Spanish from Chapman University. She has a Master's degree in Physics from Ha… — **Taylor Patti**
**Computer Education Committee**
Taylor grew up in California and Oregon, graduating from South Medford High School and earning degrees in Physics, Mathematics, and Spanish from Chapman University. She has a Master's degree in Physics from Harvard University, where she is completing a PhD in theoretical physics. Her research interests include quantum computing and machine learning, as well as the control of quantum systems. At TEJI, she works directly with correctional facility partners on ensuring technological access to TEJI’s courses.

Our Team

Co-Directors

Core Supporting Team

Computer Education Committee

Affiliated Instructors

Created By Marisa Gaetz, ©2022.