Pua sits down with Alexa Garza, Executive Director of the Texas Center for Higher Education in Prison (TEXCHEP) to talk about the inequities in access to higher education in prisons (and even after release). Alexa shares her own journey as an incarcerated scholar who earned her bachelor’s degree inside and later completed a master’s in business.

She explains the realities facing the 133,000 people incarcerated in Texas, with only 1,500 enrolled in college courses. We talk about gender disparities and why women have historically been a “correctional afterthought.” We also talk about what steps Alexa and TEXCHEP are taking to create better data, more practical campus supports, and second-chance hiring opportunities. Alexa’s overall goal is to help scale access to higher ed, leading people to dignified, goal-aligned careers.

About Alexa Garza

Alexa Garza is the Executive Director of the Texas Center for Higher Education in Prison (TEXCHEP). After earning her undergraduate degree while inside, Alexa was denied graduate school after release. It was this experience that ignited her advocacy for access and equity in correctional education.

Since then, Alexa has collaborated with stakeholders from colleges, corrections facilities, and policymakers to establish statewide guardrails for higher ed in prison and to expand student supports from custody to campus. Alexa later completed her master’s in business and now leads TEXCHEP, advocating for secondary school access and second-chance hiring.

Resources discussed in this episode:

RAND study on correctional education & recidivism (43% lower for participants)

Contact Pua Pakele | RBL Media:

Contact Alexa Garza | Tex

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Education Is a Privilege We Deserve: Alexa Garza on Higher Ed in Prison