Stacked Keys Podcast
The idea to talk to women who are out there living and making a difference is where the Stacked Keys Podcast was born. There are women who make a difference, but never make a wave while paddling through life. Immediately I can think of a dozen or more who impacted me, but I want more. I want to talk to those I don't know and I want to share with an audience that might need the inspiration to find their own beat. This podcast is to feature women who are impressive in the work world-- or in raising a family -- or who have hobbies that can make us all be encouraged. Want to hear what makes these women passionate and get up in the morning or what they wish they had known earlier in life? Grab your keys and STOMP to your own drum.
Stacked Keys Podcast
Episode 212-- Annette Funderburk -- Breaking the Cycle: Prison Education and Second Chances
Annette Funderburk, President of Ingram State Technical College, brings us inside the transformative world of prison education with striking candor and compassion. Her institution stands alone among Alabama's community colleges—dedicated exclusively to serving incarcerated individuals across the state's correctional facilities.
"Just because you made a mistake doesn't make you a mistake," Funderburk shares, revealing the philosophy that drives her work helping people rebuild their lives behind prison fences. As a first-generation college graduate herself, she understands profoundly how education creates pathways where none seemed possible before.
The conversation takes us deep into the challenges and triumphs of teaching in correctional settings. From hiring instructors who see potential where others might only see crimes, to developing comprehensive support systems that follow students from incarceration to employment, Ingram State's approach addresses the whole person. Funderburk explains how they're breaking generational cycles by helping parents become positive role models through education and stable employment.
Most compelling are the stories of transformation—watching students arrive lacking confidence, then witnessing their evolution into disciplined learners preparing for life beyond prison walls. The college doesn't just teach technical skills but focuses on building critical thinking abilities that were often missing when poor decisions led to incarceration.
Whether you're interested in criminal justice reform, education's transformative power, or leadership in challenging environments, this conversation will shift your perspective on what's possible when we invest in second chances. Listen now and discover how stomping to your own drum—as the podcast's theme suggests—can mean creating opportunities where society often sees only dead ends.
Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff