When Brandon Davis walked out of Algoa Correctional Center in February of 2023, he didn’t plan on coming back. But on a Thursday this past May, he walked back through the doors of the prison where he spent more than four years of his life.
“It kind of brought anxiety, joy, nerves, and just a lot of different mix of emotions,” Davis said. “It's just hard to ... it's just a lot to take in.”
The reason for his return? Helping others learn about the impacts of a program born at Algoa.
More than 100 people gather in the large, wood-floored gymnasium of the prison – current offenders, leadership from across the Missouri Department of Corrections, and invested community members all sit intermingled at tables.
"We're all products of our circumstances, things lead us here," Cornelius said. "We're more than the worst thing that's ever been done to us, and the worst thing that we have ever done."
As folks settle in, Bo Cornelius takes the stage where a large sign behind him reads “Algoa Prison Leadership Conference.” Cornelius spent six or so years incarcerated at Algoa and has been out for just more than a year.
“So, I was released from this facility 11 months ago,” Cornelius said. “It’s been a crazy 11 months that has brought us here.”
He said while incarcerated at Algoa, he wanted to work on becoming “worthy” of his family. He got involved in various restorative justice programs and joined the virtual Global Leadership Summit three times.
The Global Leadership Summit is a national event hosted live in Chicago each year. It’s also streamed to 225 criminal justice institutions in more than 30 states. Over the course of two days, 15 people, including activists, authors, entrepreneurs, CEOs and more, share their thoughts on what makes an effective leader.
“And I had a desire to start a group where we could use the content year-round,” Cornelius said. “And instead of it being two days a year, I wanted it to be year-round.”
Cornelius and his wife Abby drafted up a proposal for prison administrations in hopes of starting a new organization, the Global Leadership Academy, or GLA, and the administration said "yes."
"Maybe, just maybe, we're more than the mistakes we’ve made in our lives.”Deputy Warden Kyle Kemper
We're wanting to teach them that they can thrive, they can be successful, they can help others, they can be grateful, they can feel gratitude themselves, you know, all of those things that are missing in prison – we're trying to put them into prison,” Abby Cornelius said.
Cornelius said that once they got the approval, they got to work right away – coming up with a curriculum with both like-minded offenders and staff.
Kyle Kemper, the Deputy Warden at Algoa Correctional Center, said he remembers the day Cornelius approached him with the idea.
“We just kind of started talking leadership, and next thing you know, I was sitting in the room every Wednesday and looking at it from an administrative point of view, ‘How can I ensure that this doesn't go away?’,” Kemper said.
Kemper said the program currently runs on a 22-week schedule, and the group, which he calls resident-driven and staff-supported, is given a lot of autonomy.
"There were a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of obstacles, because it is in itself, inherently, a culture shift. Like the idea was to change the culture, but to allow anything resident-driven is giving power to the people that you don't want to have power," Cornelius said. "When we all do better, we all do better. So, that power is making it better for everyone. It's a lot easier to be a CEO in a facility where the people are learning and growing than arguing and fighting."
“I think the resident model is something that we've lacked in the past,” Kemper said. “But I think it's very important because that is us as staff, lending a hand and saying, ‘We trust you enough not to mess this up,’ right? That autonomy, the freedom given to effect change and steer the ship, essentially, creates buy in.”
Kemper said the GLA currently has around 30 members, and new members are selected and invited by the group. Kemper just checks to make sure there aren’t any conduct violations.
The group meets once a week and talks about different leadership qualities, such as emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, resilience, kindness and more. And, at the same time, each of the participants is studying a previous global Leadership summit presentation, reflecting on it and developing a speech of their own.
“They're learning skills that they wouldn't have normally had. They're collaborating as a team. They're learning how to speak in a public setting. They're learning how to prepare and study material and prepare for their presentations,” Kemper said. “I can stand here all day and talk about the impacts that it has made on these guys.”
Kemper said he has seen the program change how participants carry themselves, has led to less tension with staff – and is a part of a culture shift at Algoa.
“So, staff and residents in the room – nobody is there for a specific reason other than to learn, grow and participate, and what happens is, there's more and more vulnerability in the room, there's more and more humility shown by staff,” Kemper said.
"It's the Department of Corrections, not the Department of punishment, or punitive action," Kemper said. "The punishment is that they are incarcerated to begin with. Now, how do we turn them out to be better neighbors and citizens and fathers and mothers than they were?"
“Through hearing testimonials and stories from our incarcerated people, our staff realize that they're just people, and everybody makes mistakes. And maybe, just maybe, we're more than the mistakes we’ve made in our lives.”
Kemper added that he’s been trying to quantify the effects of the GLA recently, so he looked at how 10 former members have been doing since their release from the Missouri Department of Corrections.
“And to my knowledge – there might be something that I've missed – but I saw zero crimes committed by those 10 individuals since their release,” Kemper said. “Additionally, there's a drastic decrease in conduct violations from the gentlemen that are in the room – from their time before being exposed to the GLA and their time after.”
Brandon Davis, who’s been out for a year and a half now, attributes a lot of his success to his time in the GLA. He said prior to his time in the GLA, he never really cared if he was a good employee or kept a job – but now, he’s had the same construction job since three days after his release.
“I've been financially able to buy my own vehicles and pay bills and have a savings account, I have a 401 K, health insurance,” Davis said. “So, I have all these things I never had before.”
Davis added that he doesn’t believe he’d be in this position – trying to be a better employee, a better partner, a better parent – without the support of the GLA and the lessons he learned there before his release.
Next Steps for the Global Leadership Academy
Since his release, Bo Cornelius has been working on making connections through his and his wife Abby’s nonprofit, Second Mountain Leadership. He now works for the Global Leadership Network, the organization which oversees the Global Leadership Summit.
"Everybody's a leader in some shape, form or fashion. It's just, scales get bigger or smaller.”James Turner, GLA Member
He said his role is to find ways to expand the GLA program into other prisons and criminal justice institutions – which is why they chose to host the Algoa Prison Leadership Conference.
Throughout the day, folks from all walks of life learned more about the impacts of the program. Current GLA members gave short speeches showcasing what they have learned and several former GLA members came back to show how they have used the skills gained through GLA in their communities.
“We want to pilot the program at different facilities, and we're hoping to get buy-in from other facilities in the state,” Cornelius said.
“And, you know, thankfully, a lot of representatives, wardens from other institutions have come here today, and I've already had several approach me about starting GLA at their facility. So, I'm excited at the opportunity to help make that happen.”
Impacts on Participants
"It's been overwhelming today, I feel a sense of joy, and it feels good to be able to bring other people along on the journey because if you can help change one person's life or their trajectory, hopefully they can change another person's life," Owens said. "And it was because of somebody showing me that they believed in me that changed my life, so, if I can show that to another person, I can pass it on – it'll be all worth it to me."
Aaron Owens is a current member of the GLA who’s been incarcerated for nearly five years and has been a member of the GLA for the last two.
Owens gave a speech at the leadership conference on conviction. He’s been studying a presentation from fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo who spoke at the Global Leadership Summit in 2021.
“I personally want to give back to the community,” Owens said. “I've taken so much from the community, from my family, and to do that, I have to be able to speak in front of people, I have to be able to share my vision with people, I have to be able to get people to buy into what I believe and have them believe it too.”
"We're utilizing the guys that have already done it," Kemper said. "I don't have to convince someone when they have someone that's already been doing it – someone who also has walked the same path that they have."
He said being a member of the GLA has impacted his life in many ways – it has helped him connect more to his kids, has made him more empathetic to other people’s experiences and helped people put their differences aside.
“Whatever they may be – religion, race, or any of these different hoods that we're from or whatever,” Owens said. “And we've worked together and we're building community within a prison and we're taking it to the streets when we get out.”
All of the members of the GLA were asked to invite another resident of Algoa to the leadership conference, and Owens brought Daveon Williams with him.
Williams has been incarcerated since 2021 and is expected to be released this summer. He said he was impressed by what he saw and heard – especially the level of trust GLA members seem to have with staff.
"There's a drastic decrease in conduct violations from the gentlemen that are in the room – from their time before being exposed to the GLA and their time after.”Deputy Warden Kyle Kemper
“I just get so overwhelmed, because it's like, ‘Bro, like, we're free and we're in prison,” Williams said. “We're being given the opportunity. We're being trusted, you know, we're being looked for, you know, for our opinion.”
James Turner is another member of the GLA. He’s been incarcerated for 12 years and hopes to be released in the next few months. He said one of his favorite things about the GLA is the fact that folks are getting together once a week to discuss something positive – which can be hard to find in prison.
Turner said one of the biggest things he has taken away from his time in the GLA is that leadership doesn’t have to mean being a CEO or leading a company. It can often be as simple as the impact you are having on your children, your family and your community.
“What you do matters,” Turner said. “And it makes you re-shift your thought process of what leadership is because everybody's a leader in some shape, form or fashion. It's just, scales get bigger or smaller.”
Everyone involved with the GLA – current members, former members, Deputy Warden Kyle Kemper – seems to agree that they’d like to see the program expand to include more Algoa residents, to other Missouri prisons and even into prisons throughout the country.
For a full transcript of the broadcast version of this story, click here.
