New England Prison Education Collaborative

Sarah Kuczynski is the Director of the New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC) and Transfer Initiatives at the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). In this role, Sarah is leading the roll-out of NEBHE’s new five-year, Ascendium-funded project to expand access to higher education in prison across the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). Beyond this, Sarah facilitates the New England Transfer Guarantee--NEBHE’s state-specific community college transfer initiative which is now fully operationalized in all six states in the region.

Sarah was the primary author of the June 2023 report of the New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison.

Prior to joining NEBHE, Sarah worked in student success at the collegiate and high school level. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Sarah holds a B.A. in English from The George Washington University, a PhD in English from UNC-Chapel Hill, and an EdM in Education Policy and Analysis from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Zeia serves as a Project Manager for the New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC), a grant-funded initiative of the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). In this role, she leverages skills in program development, stakeholder engagement, and data-informed decision-making to co-manage NEPEC’s rollout across the six New England states.

Zeia’s career reflects her passion for social justice. Before joining NEBHE, she served as an Equity and Learning Specialist at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, where she developed and facilitated diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings and actively supported organizational race equity initiatives.

Previously, as a research intern at Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Zeia contributed significantly to influential reports on systemic inequities in school discipline and barriers to legal access in Massachusetts.

Zeia earned her B.A. in International Studies from American University, focusing on Justice, Ethics, and Human Rights. She is enrolled in an M.S. in Data Analytics and Computational Social Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, further strengthening her ability to leverage data for meaningful social impact.

Quinn Barton serves as a Project Coordinator for the New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC), a grant-funded initiative of the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). In this role, Quinn leads the team's social media strategy and content, coordinates internal and external communications, and provides administrative support.

Quinn’s career is driven by her passion for facilitating actionable change in society through communications campaigns and policy research. Her pivot towards educational reform in prison on the New England Prison Education Collaborative reflects her commitment towards uplifting marginalized members of society.

A graduate of Boston University, Quinn holds a B.S. in Media Science with minors in International Relations and Political Science with a focus on the intersection between the public sector and political discourse.

Nurudeen Alabi serves as a Stakeholder Engagement Specialist for the New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC), a grant-funded initiative of the New England Board of Higher Education focused on expanding access to higher education in correctional settings across the six New England states. In this role, he works to strengthen partnerships among higher education institutions, correctional agencies, community organizations, and directly impacted individuals to support equitable and sustainable prison education initiatives.

Nurudeen draws from his lived experience with incarceration and his educational journey, being the first student of the Boston College Prison Education Program (BCPEP) to graduate on campus and earn his B.A in Business Marketing. He brings a deeply informed perspective to advocacy, public speaking, and systems change work centered on second chances and educational opportunity. His work focuses on stakeholder engagement, strategic collaboration, and elevating the voices of formerly incarcerated individuals in policy and practice discussions.

Nurudeen is passionate about using education as a pathway to personal transformation, civic engagement, and long-term community impact.