A shared commitment to preparation
Why White Collar Advice supports free prison education and efforts to expand opportunities for people to earn freedom
White Collar Advice supports Prison Professors, a nonprofit that provides free educational resources to people in prisons and jails. The relationship began in 2008, when I met Michael Santos in federal prison.
Preparation begins with opportunity.
Our relationship
Justin Paperny
Founder, White Collar Advice
I'm Justin Paperny, founder of White Collar Advice. Michael had already served more than 20 years in federal prison when we met.
Michael encouraged me to read deliberately, document my journey, and think about how I would emerge from prison. He urged me to write about the books I read, the work I completed, and the plans I was making for employment and family responsibilities after release. I began following his advice.
Today, through White Collar Advice, I help fund the nonprofit Michael founded so other people can use these resources without paying for them.
About our collaboration
White Collar Advice is a consulting firm that works individually with people facing federal investigations, sentencing, prison, and the return home, including the lifelong collateral consequences of a felony conviction.
White Collar Advice contributes financially to support this work.
Prison Professors serves people in prisons and jails, including those who cannot afford to hire a consultant. The nonprofit provides free books, courses, and a platform where people can publish their writing. It also advocates for changes in prison policy.
Interviews & videos
How the work began. What happens inside prisons. And why we continue building. These stories show our mission through the people doing the work.
01 / The beginning · April 2014
PBS: Former Prisoner Strives to Help Others Behind Bars
Shortly after Michael completed 26 years in federal prison, PBS followed his work bringing a message of preparation to people in custody. This early report shows the foundation of the work that continues today.
02 / The personal journey
Michael Santos on Federal Prison and Starting Over
In this long-form interview, Michael reflects on the decisions that led to prison and the years of learning, writing, and preparation that followed. His story helps explain why lived experience shapes the nonprofit’s approach.
03 / Expanding access · June 2026
Changpeng Zhao (CZ) & Michael Santos
Michael and CZ discuss education, financial literacy, and Web3, including how supporters can help bring current learning resources into prisons. The conversation connects the mission with the support that keeps resources free.
04 / USP Coleman · September 2026
How We Changed: Personal Growth at USP Coleman
People incarcerated at USP Coleman describe their experiences with Prison Professors and the steps they are taking to prepare for release. Their accounts show how learning and self-advocacy become part of daily life.
05 / A staff perspective
Damond Talbot on the Impact Inside Prison
In conversation with Michael, Damond Talbot describes a class of 26 men sharing what they learn and families helping participants build profiles. His observations offer a staff perspective on motivation, learning, and documented progress.
06 / The larger conversation · June 2026
Insights from the 2026 BOP Wardens Conference
Michael and I discuss what we learned at the 2026 Federal Bureau of Prisons Wardens Conference. The conversation shows why engaging prison administrators and other stakeholders forms part of a sustained effort to improve opportunities.
Why we support Prison Professors
Shortly after Michael was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison in 1987, a correctional officer handed him a philosophy book.
Michael began studying the ideas of Socrates, Aristotle, and other thinkers. Their teachings influenced how he approached his sentence. He shared those ideas with me more than 20 years later.
Michael also wanted to change how the federal prison system rewarded people for what they accomplished during their sentences.
A person could spend years studying, teaching classes, mentoring others, and developing skills that might help them find employment after release. But those accomplishments generally did little to change how much time the person would serve.
Prison Professors advocates for policies that give people opportunities to earn freedom through merit, regardless of their conviction, sentence length, or security level.
When we met in 2008, the First Step Act did not exist.
Congress passed the law in 2018. It created a system that allows eligible people to earn time credits by participating in qualifying programs and activities.
But many people are excluded because of their convictions. Others may be able to participate in programs without qualifying for the same early-release benefits.
We want to see those opportunities expanded.
Prison Professors works toward that objective by distributing educational resources, encouraging incarcerated people to publish their work, and developing relationships with people who can influence prison policy.
We also want to follow participants after release. What jobs do they find? Can they support themselves? Do they return to prison?
As we gather information, we want to share it with Bureau of Prisons administrators, lawmakers, and others considering changes to the system.
One way people can participate is through Prison Professors Profiles.
The platform allows people to publish their biographies, journals, book reports, and release plans.
Someone serving decades in a penitentiary can document books they've read, courses they've completed, and people they've mentored. Participants can also publish release plans identifying housing, employment prospects, and financial obligations, even when their release dates are years away.
We encourage people to begin writing wherever they are in their sentences.
Consider someone who has spent five years in prison. During that time, they've completed courses, read dozens of books, mentored other prisoners, and developed a plan for returning home.
A prospective employer may know only that this person has a felony conviction and spent five years in prison.
Through a Prison Professors Profile, the person can share their writing, describe the courses they've completed, and show the work they've done to prepare for employment.
They can also share the profile with family members, mentors, case managers, and people who may be willing to help them after release.
I encourage participants to think about who will read their work.
An employer may want to know what skills they've developed. A case manager may want information about their participation in educational programs. Someone considering offering housing or employment may want to read their release plan.
The writing should give those people something specific to consider.
We also encourage participants to continue updating their profiles after returning home.
Finding a job with a felony conviction can be difficult. So can obtaining certain professional licenses, securing housing, and dealing with financial obligations that accumulated during the case and prison sentence.
People who have returned home can write about those experiences. Someone still incarcerated may learn from the mistakes they made or the opportunities they found.
The profiles also help us learn about people serving different sentences at different security levels.
As participation grows, we want to study what people accomplish in prison and follow their experiences after release.
We hope to use that information when advocating for policies that allow more people to earn liberty through merit.
Publishing a profile does not, by itself, qualify someone for early release. We encourage the work because it can help people prepare for opportunities available to them now while contributing to our longer-term efforts to change the system.
Through White Collar Advice, I help fund Prison Professors so people can use these resources without paying for them.
Someone facing sentencing can begin reading the books, taking courses, and creating a profile before entering prison. Someone already incarcerated can write book reports, keep a journal, and develop a release plan. Someone who has returned home can continue publishing updates about employment, family responsibilities, and the difficulties of living with a felony conviction.
Most people in prison will never meet Michael. Through Prison Professors, they can read his books, take courses, and learn from people who have served sentences and returned home.
White Collar Advice helps pay for those resources. Other individuals and organizations contribute as well.
The funding supports books distributed to prisons and jails, educational courses, the technology behind Prison Professors Profiles, and the costs of operating the nonprofit.
I encourage you to visit PrisonProfessors.org to explore the courses, read participant profiles, review the nonprofit's financial reporting, or make a contribution.
If you're facing prison or have a loved one who is incarcerated, you can begin using the resources today. You don't have to wait until sentencing or until someone enters prison.
If you want to help us reach more people, I hope you'll consider supporting the nonprofit. There are people serving sentences who could benefit from these resources but may not know they exist.
I'm also available to speak with anyone interested in helping us expand this work. I'd welcome a conversation. You can call me directly on my personal cell phone at 818-424-2220 or schedule a call.
Our growing community
Our goal is to reach 50,000 participants on Prison Professors Profiles.
Loading community totals…
The vision ahead
We want people serving sentences at every security level to participate, including those who are excluded from existing early-release programs.
Every new profile gives us another person's writing to study and another account of what someone is doing while serving a sentence.
As participants return home, we want to learn about their employment, housing, family responsibilities, and experiences with the criminal justice system.
We intend to use that information in our discussions with prison administrators and lawmakers.
The more people who participate, the more experiences we can bring into those discussions.
Every new participant adds another record of effort.
Explore Prison Professors ↗Individual records of responsibility, goals, and preparation.
Biographies, reflections, and plans that make the work visible.
Platform recognition of participants’ documented activity.
Platform totals as of · Refreshed every five minutes
See the latest figures ↗The vision ahead
We want people serving sentences at every security level to participate, including those who are excluded from existing early-release programs.
Every new profile gives us another person's writing to study and another account of what someone is doing while serving a sentence.
As participants return home, we want to learn about their employment, housing, family responsibilities, and experiences with the criminal justice system.
We intend to use that information in our discussions with prison administrators and lawmakers.
The more people who participate, the more experiences we can bring into those discussions.
Every new participant adds another record of effort.
Explore Prison Professors ↗