Jody Lewen: Inside Mount Tamalpais College: 30 Years of Higher Education at San Quentin

Dr. Lewen gave a presentation to Wednesday Morning Dialogue on May 13, 2026.

This year, Mount Tamalpais College (MTC) celebrates 30 years of higher education for people incarcerated at San Quentin. Join MTC President Jody Lewen for a lively conversation about the impact of high-quality education in prison and the College’s history, current programs, and vision for the future.

Mount Tamalpais College’s mission is to provide an intellectually rigorous, inclusive Associate of Arts degree program and College Preparatory Program, free of charge, to people at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; to expand access to quality higher education for incarcerated people; and to foster the values of equity, civic engagement, independence of thought, and freedom of expression.

Jody Lewen

Short Biography

Jody Lewen is president of Mount Tamalpais College (MTC) at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in Marin County, California. MTC provides a liberal arts Associate of Arts degree, as well as an intensive college preparatory program, to approximately 300 people incarcerated at San Quentin. Dr. Lewen holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University (modern European history); a master’s degree from the Freie Universität, Berlin (comparative literature and philosophy); and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2016, MTC (then the Prison University Project) received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama. In 2024, she was awarded the McGraw Prize in Education in recognition of her contributions to the field of higher education. In 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom invited Dr. Lewen to join the San Quentin Transformation Advisory Council.