AAUW Grant Recipients - February Program Review

Alyssa Knight, executive director of the Freedom Education Project of Puget Sound (FEPPS), leads a rigorous college-in-prison program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women that has, since 2012, reshaped the culture of the state’s only women’s prison by bringing accredited AA and BA degrees inside and treating incarcerated students as full members of an academic community. Short video on their program.

Built from early GED classes through a partnership with local professors, FEPPS now offers writing-intensive, interdisciplinary degrees that match outside academic standards, supported by advising, study halls, FAFSA help, digital literacy training, and reentry planning.

The program has served more than 400 students, awarded 88 associate degrees and, in 2024, its first 10 bachelor’s degrees, with many graduates contributing across society after release. Through co-curricular programs, peer-to-peer teaching, and student leadership councils, FEPPS empowers incarcerated women—an underfunded population in the prison system—and is expanding professional development pathways with plans for a national Leadership Institute.

For more information on FEPPS, visit their website.

Allison Clonch, a PhD candidate and recipient of an AAUW research grant, spoke about examining how occupational discrimination and the related state of vigilance—constantly anticipating mistreatment—shape mental health across U.S. workplaces and in maritime settings. Over half of U.S. adults report discrimination, with far higher rates among women, Black workers, LGBTQ workers, and people with disabilities; Black women experience it at twice the rate of white men, and these patterns are tied to sharply elevated anxiety and depression, often hidden due to fear of retaliation.

Her findings show that women and marginalized groups face disproportionate exposure to unpleasant or aggressive individuals at work, which strongly correlates with discrimination and vigilance. A 2025 post-pandemic survey of mariners found similar positive interactions across genders but significantly higher negative experiences for women—gossip, exclusion, insulting remarks, persistent criticism, and gender-based unfairness—alongside anxiety and depression above national averages. Clonch emphasizes the need for stronger violence-prevention measures, better staffing and workplace.

We also heard from the young women we sent to NCCWSL (National Conference for College Women Student Leaders). We were impressed with the value they received from speakers, networking and a revised and positive feeling about themselves.