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Hero headline: The People Behind UPWARD

Hero subhead: This is a program designed by people who know what's at stake, including some who have lived it.

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UPWARD is staffed by more than 30 faculty and a dedicated administrative team. What follows is the leadership group most directly responsible for the program's design, day-to-day operation, and student experience.

Profile cards (with photo, name, title, 2–3 sentence bio, link to full profile if available):

• Amy Doty — Dean, UPWARD. Amy spent 10 years incarcerated in Nebraska. She earned three degrees, including ongoing doctoral work in higher education leadership, and now runs the program at the same facility where she once was a student. Her story is the program's most concrete proof of what UPWARD makes possible. [Read her full story →]
• Tammy Zimmer, MFA — Administrative Director, UPWARD. An award-winning poet and longtime SCC English instructor, Tammy drove past the Nebraska State Penitentiary for years before deciding SCC should be teaching on the other side of the wall. She now manages the program's day-to-day operations across all five facilities. [Read her full story →]
• Educational Navigators (named individuals when listed). Embedded at each facility, our navigators help students choose courses, manage assignments, prepare for transitions home, and connect to the campus resources that follow them after release.

Section:

UPWARD works because the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services treats education as a core part of its rehabilitative mission. We're grateful for the partnership of NDCS leadership, including Deputy Director of Rehabilitative Services Dawn-Renee Smith and Assistant Deputy Director of Programs Malisa Kringle, without whom this program would not exist.