Patrick Rodriguez is the Co-Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (GACHEP) and Director of Georgia State University’s Prison Education Project (GSUPEP). While incarcerated, he saw the positive impact that education had on himself and his peers. Since his release in December of 2019, Patrick has sought to expand educational programming in prisons by building intentional partnerships and advocating at the university and state legislature to raise awareness. He has graduated from Kennesaw State University, completed Education Trust’s Justice Policy Fellowship, completed the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials’ Institute for Leadership, and garnered $2.3 million in grant funding to expand pathways from incarceration to higher education. Under his leadership, GSUPEP will be starting pre-college courses at four women’s and men’s prisons in Georgia and a new associate degree at Atalnta’s United States Federal Penitentiary. He currently serves as the public policy chair for the Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE), division of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of commerce, and on the Advisory Board for the Georgia chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He is a recipient of the 2022 Canary Impact Prize, named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s 2022 40 under 40 and Best Self Magazine’s 40 under 40 most inspiring innovators in Atlanta. Patrick is committed to encouraging others to take the first step toward change through his lived experience, academic excellence, and professional accomplishments.