Our Mission
Prisoner Visitation & Support is a national volunteer program serving people in federal and military prisons.
Our mission is to provide regular, face-to-face contact with the outside world. These visits ease isolation, support personal growth, and help people prepare for life after prison.
Our vision is to have enough qualified visitors to meet every request for a visit.
Our Priority
We prioritize people who rarely receive visits from family or friends. Many are far from home. Others are in solitary confinement, on death row, or serving long sentences.
Our Core Values
Acceptance, authenticity, collaboration, compassion, inclusion, integrity, patience, and respectful communication
Our Guiding Principles
Every person deserves respect
Listening comes first
Visits center the needs of the person in prison
Visitors do not judge, preach, or impose their beliefs
Visitors treat prison staff and the people they visit with respect
Visitors protect confidentiality and follow PVS, BOP, and DOD rules
Safety comes first
Training and support continue throughout a visitors service
Our Staff
Arman joined PVS as executive director after a career spanning education, nonprofit leadership, and public service. He holds graduate degrees in public policy, education, business, and computer science. His work has focused on building mission-driven organizations that support people facing isolation and systemic barriers.
Emily joined PVS in 2018 after years working with people in Philadelphia returning home after incarceration. She holds degrees in Criminology and Psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, along with certificates in Nonprofit Administration and Fundraising from LaSalle University. She also visits people incarcerated at FDC Philadelphia.
Our Board of Directors
Tom Slick
Board Chair and PVS Visitor at FCI Sheridan
Eileen Gilkenson
Board Vice Chair and PVS Visitor at FDC Philadelphia
Linda Roberts
Board Treasurer and PVS Visitor at FCC Coleman
Shazad Carbaidwala
PVS Visitor at MCC Chicago
Molly Clifford
Communications Professional and former PVS Executive Director
Ken Cottrell
PVS Visitor at FMC Lexington
Maximilien Geiger
PVS Visitor at FCI Otisville
Michael Guerra
Attorney
Leila Richards
PVS Visitor at FCI Elkton
Dan Struble
PVS Visitor at FCI Otisville
Scott Sussman
DC Board of Elections and former BOP Deputy Administrator, Community Reentry Affairs Branch
Our Honorary Board
Eric Corson
Eric Corson served as Executive Director of PVS from 1977 to 2017 and is the author of Reaching Beyond Prison Walls.
Luis “Suave” Gonzalez
Luis ‘Suave’ Gonzalez is a former PVS Board member who was formerly incarcerated and is featured in the Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast Suave.
Kathleen Hawk Sawyer
Kathleen Hawk Sawyer was the first woman to serve as Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, leading the agency from 1992 to 2003.
Jim Marren
Jim Marren is a former PVS Board member who served 19 years in federal prison and was visited by PVS volunteers at three different institutions.
Rachel Osborn
Rachel Osborn is a retired professional fundraiser, former PVS Board Chair, and longtime PVS volunteer.
David Poundstone
David Poundstone has been a PVS visitor since July 1999 and previously served as PVS Board Chair.
Jean Rosenberg
Jean and John Rosenberg live in the mountains of eastern Kentucky in the city of Prestonsburg
John Rosenberg
John became the Director of the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (“Appalred”)
Betty Woodman
Betty Woodman was recruited as a PVS visitor by co-founder Fay Honey Knopp.
