Danielle Cox, M.Ed. Email & Phone Number

I have worked in the field of education for over 20 years in public schools and juvenile and adult corrections as a teacher, administrator, coordinator, and education director. As Director of Education, I currently oversee educational programming at all MD state prison facilities for the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. I work directly under the Assistant Secretary for DPSCS as the liaison between corrections and the MD Department of Labor's correctional education program, ensuring all incarcerated students are given an equal opportunity to graduate and succeed post-release. I also oversee all Higher Education programming, including our Second Chance Pell sites, and other institutions wishing to provide prison education programs through Pell grant funding and work with community organizations to bring Reentry Education classes to our incarcerated population. Finally, I oversee two grants that provide funding for certified peer recovery specialist in our parole and probation offices and education services behind the fence. Prior to this, I was the Director of Correctional Education at MD Labor, managing multiple multi-million dollar grants and state-allocated funds, a staff of 240 employees comprised of both full-time and contractual part-time teachers and staff, created multiple Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs), and coordinated services with multiple state agencies. In both roles, I occasionally attend state legislative hearings and work on bills to support correctional education programs. In addition, at Labor, I began a program in 2019 to train all staff on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) topics to ensure equitable services to our correctional education students across the state. The ongoing program trains staff to understand the effects of implicit bias on our working relationships with colleagues and/or our student relationships to make sure we are on the road to becoming culturally competent in various areas. Topics include Race, Inclusion, Disability, and LGBTQ+ rights and included the building of DEI plans and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at each of the 18 schools.