Pamela A. Smart has been incarcerated for 34 years. She earned a PhD in Biblical Studies, a Masters of Law, a Masters of Professional Studies, and a Master of Fine Arts in English LIterature. She is featured in the award-winning PBS documentary What I Want My Words to Do to You, a participatory action researcher for “Changing Minds: The Impact of College in a Maximum Security Prison.” Her poetry has been published in Exchange, Return to Sender, Beyond the Bars, and HUmans of San Quentin. She is the elected grievance representative for Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, where she works as an advocate for her peers. She is serving a life without parole sentence but maintains a defiant hope for change.