Dr. Aaron T. Kinzel is a nationally recognized educator, researcher, and criminal justice reform advocate whose life embodies the power of transformation. Once incarcerated for more than a decade for a violent confrontation with law enforcement, he has risen to become a faculty member at the University of Michigan and a research collaborator with Yale University, specializing in corrections, reentry, and public policy. Drawing from both his lived experience and academic expertise, Dr. Kinzel has spent nearly 20 years designing trauma-informed curricula, advising policymakers, and consulting on justice reform initiatives across the United States and abroad.
He has visited over 100 correctional facilities worldwide, developed educational programs for incarcerated students and correctional staff, and delivered keynote addresses at national and international conferences. His work bridges the gap between research and practice, using data to inform policy while ensuring that reforms remain grounded in the real human experiences of justice-impacted individuals. Dr. Kinzel’s mission is clear: to dismantle systemic barriers, expand opportunities for education and employment, and prove that people are far more than their past mistakes.
Q: In just 2–3 sentences, what is the most important thing the world needs to know about you and the work you do?
A: I’m a formerly incarcerated person who has transformed my life through education, advocacy, and service, now working in higher education, public policy, and corrections reform. My mission is to dismantle the systemic barriers that trap people in cycles of incarceration while still holding people accountable for their crimes and building pathways to education, employment, and dignity for justice-impacted individuals. I want my story and my work to stand as proof that people are not defined by their worst mistake, they are defined by the choices they make afterward in their service to the community.
Q: You’ve gone from spending over a decade incarcerated to earning your doctorate and holding positions at both the University of Michigan and Yale. What has that journey taught you about resilience, opportunity, and systemic change?
A: My journey has taught me that resilience is forged in the fire of adversity but only truly grows when someone is willing to open a door for you. I’ve met countless people in prison with extraordinary talent and intelligence who lacked access to opportunity.
The greatest lesson is that systemic change is not just about tearing down harmful systems, it is about intentionally building structures that allow people to recover, grow, and contribute after failure. Without that, we are just patching holes in a sinking ship called criminal justice reform.
An important part of my success has been through being mentored by various criminal justice system actors. Retired Michigan Department of Corrections Director Pat Caruso was instrumental in connecting me to opportunities for consulting work with the U.S. Department of Justice and other national agencies to share my story. She has mentored me for over 10 years and given me a new vision on correctional reform. Retired Honorable Judge Donald Shelton took a risk on hiring me at the University of Michigan as a faculty member shortly after I earned my master degree at this institution. Judge Shelton has helped me become a better faculty member and pushed me to finish my dissertation and supported me when others would not be open to helping someone with a criminal history.
More recently after earning my doctoral degree, I reconnected with people at JustLeadershipUSA, which is a national nonprofit that pushes criminal justice reform and is led by justice impacted people. I was hired by them as a research fellow that will collaborate on a project with Yale University to try and understand cardiovascular health issues with justice impacted people and their families. This demonstrates how justice impacted people are stronger in connection with their peers to make effective change in their communities.
Q: You’ve developed and taught curriculum inside correctional facilities for both incarcerated individuals and administrative staff. What’s the most powerful moment you’ve witnessed in that setting?
A: Some of the most powerful moments I have witnessed are when incarcerated students start to see themselves as thinkers and leaders rather than just prisoners. I have seen individuals who were once disengaged come alive in a classroom delivering university-level presentations, debating complex social issues, and mentoring younger peers. The day you see someone shift from saying, “I can’t do this” to “I belong here” is the day you realize education inside prison is not just about learning, it is about reclaiming identity. It is also important to find ways for both people locked up in prison and correctional employees to humanize each other and work together for change in the correctional environment and the community.
Q: You’ve designed numerous trauma-informed workshops and reentry services. Why is a trauma-informed approach essential in both education and corrections reform?
A: In my work, I have seen firsthand that almost everyone touched by the justice system, whether they are incarcerated, a correctional officer, or a family member, has experienced trauma.
Trauma shapes behavior, decision-making, and trust. If we do not acknowledge that reality, we risk creating environments that retraumatize rather than heal.
A trauma-informed approach humanizes the process, reduces conflict, and builds the trust necessary for meaningful rehabilitation and safer communities. Without it, we keep repeating the same cycles of harm.
Q: You’ve visited over 100 correctional facilities around the world. What differences stand out most between international correctional systems and the U.S. approach?
A: In many parts of the world, corrections are centered around rehabilitation and reintegration rather than punishment and isolation. That does not mean we do not hold people accountable for their negative behavior, but we should focus on how to repair that harm and ensure that further harm is not committed in the future.
For example, in Norway, prisons resemble small, functioning communities with kitchens, education spaces, and vocational training and correctional officers are trained as mentors rather than enforcers. In the U.S., the system is still largely rooted in retribution, which often strips people of dignity and makes reintegration far more difficult. The contrast in outcomes is undeniable, when you treat people as human beings, they are far more likely to return to society ready to contribute and become law-abiding and productive citizens.
Q: With nearly 20 years of experience providing technical assistance and working on policy change, what do you believe are the top two reforms that would most immediately improve community safety and justice outcomes?
A: The first is a massive investment in education and workforce training for people inside and returning from prison, because education is the single strongest factor in reducing recidivism and increasing economic stability. The second is eliminating mandatory minimums and overly punitive sentencing laws that fracture families and perpetuate generational harm. People should be punished and removed from society when they pose an immediate threat, but many can return home safely after serving a fair sentence to pay for their transgressions from society. These changes would reduce prison populations, strengthen communities, and provide a pathway to real public safety that does not rely on mass incarceration.
Q: What would you say to those who still believe that people with criminal records can’t become leaders, educators, or policy influencers?
A: I would simply say, “Look at me.” I have gone from being a violent kid in the streets to a prison cell to lecturing at universities, consulting with policymakers, and shaping national reforms. People with lived experience bring insights you cannot get from theory or statistics alone. Leadership is not about a spotless résumé; it is about integrity, vision, and the courage to create change and accept your mistakes and focus on not repeating them.
Q: You’re a frequent speaker at conferences and events. If you could give one piece of advice to the next generation of advocates, educators, and reformers, what would it be?
A: Build coalitions that cross political, racial, and economic divides that all focus on addressing injustice and unfair treatment. The most transformative change I have seen happens when unlikely allies, people who do not normally sit at the same table, come together for a common goal.
Change moves faster when you are not preaching to the choir but engaging the people who most need to hear your message. Do not be afraid to speak your mind or worry about being cancelled due to unpopular beliefs.
Be true to yourself and focus on your goals and find people who share your ideals and those that can mentor you for bigger and brighter things. If you just think you are the smartest person in a room, then you have no place to grow and learn from others who have knowledge to share with you to create an improved version of yourself.
Q: How do you see your academic research and your advocacy work reinforcing each other to push for meaningful change?
A: My academic research documents the realities of incarceration, from the emotional impact to the systemic barriers people face after release. My advocacy takes that evidence and translates it into policy recommendations and public awareness campaigns. The two feed each other and this data gives my advocacy credibility, and my advocacy ensures my research remains connected to real people’s experiences, not just abstract theory.
For instance, my dissertation research on carceral consciousness is the mindset and worldview shaped by living in, working within, or being otherwise immersed in carceral environments like prisons and jails. It develops through daily exposure to surveillance, control, and power hierarchies, and it can influence how people see themselves, others, and society. For incarcerated individuals, it can lead to hypervigilance, distrust, and a narrowed sense of possibility; for correctional staff, it can normalize punitive control and reinforce “us vs. them” thinking.
In justice reform, understanding carceral consciousness is crucial because it reveals how deeply entrenched prison culture is not just within incarcerated populations but across the entire system. Policies that fail to address this mindset risk reproducing the same harmful dynamics even after release or within community-based programs.
By recognizing and actively working to shift carceral consciousness toward dignity, trust, and shared humanity, reformers can design interventions that truly break cycles of punishment and create lasting, systemic change.
Q: If someone made a movie about your life, would it be a drama, a documentary, or a comedy and who would play you?
A: It would have to be a documentary-drama hybrid because parts of my story are so intense, and others are almost unbelievable. I have seen extreme levels of violence in my home and community, including rape and murder as child. I was brutally beaten and almost killed by my stepfather who fired all 6 rounds from a .357 Magnum revolver chasing me out of the family home at the age of eight. I later committed acts of violence with firearms as a teenager, and this eventually brought me to the gates of prison. Later in life becoming an academic despite and in part because of these experiences certainly is a unique outcome for someone. My life has had moments of tragedy, absurdity, and redemption, and I think that perhaps Johnny Depp could capture all of that, the grit, the transformation, and humanity.
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