50th Michael H. Feldman '67 Social Justice Day

Each year, The Cambridge School of Weston honors the life and legacy of Michael H. Feldman ’67 by offering a meaningful, daylong learning experience for students, faculty, and staff, as well as the family and friends of Michael. 
 
Formerly known as Law Day, Michael H. Feldman ’67 Social Justice Day was established by Shirley and Roger Feldman in 1975 following Michael’s untimely passing at the age of 25. This year’s gathering marks a significant milestone—50 years of Social Justice Day.

Keynote Speaker

Marvin Pierre
Executive Director, 8 Million Stories, Inc. 

Marvin Pierre is a dedicated educator, mentor, and advocate for youth, particularly those who have faced systemic barriers to success. A proud graduate of Tabor Academy, Marvin began developing Eight Million Stories, Inc. (8MS) during his year as a TNTP (The New Teacher Project) Bridge Fellow and has served as its Executive Director since its founding in 2017. Through 8MS, he works to provide education, job readiness training, and mentorship to young people who have been pushed out of traditional school settings or faced involvement in the justice system, helping them create pathways to success.
Before launching 8MS, Marvin served as the Assistant Principal at KIPP Polaris Academy for Boys in Houston, Texas, where he worked to support young men in their academic and personal growth. His experience in education leadership also includes roles as Dean of Students at Excellence Boys Charter School, Assistant Dean of Students at Summit Academy Charter School, and Director of Student Life at Achievement First Endeavor Middle School, all in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to his work in education, he began his career in finance, working in the Municipal Finance Group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. A proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Marvin holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut) and a Master’s in Education Administration and Supervision from the University of Houston.  
Eight Million Stories: Mentorship, Second Chances, & Redefining Success – Marvin Pierre shares his experiences working with young men of color who have faced significant challenges, highlighting the critical role of mentorship and support in keeping them out of the criminal justice system. Through powerful stories and reflections, he discusses the gaps in education and reentry opportunities, the impact of father figures and adult male mentors, and how programs like Eight Million Stories create pathways for success. This talk explores what it truly means to give young people a chance to reset, grow, and build a future beyond their past mistakes.  

Schedule

Wednesday, April 16, 2025 Schedule
 
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
A Block Class

10:10 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Opening Session & Keynote Speaker

11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Morning Workshop

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch

1:05 p.m. – 1:55 p.m.
Afternoon Workshop

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Advisory Activities

Presenters

List of 10 items.

  • Alison Sexson |Attorney | Greater Boston Legal Services


    Since the summer of 2010, Alison Sexson has dedicated her life's work to understanding how to use the law in a way that will uplift those it has historically oppressed. Coming from five generations of educators, Alison is currently a staff attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services and is the point person for the School-to-Prison Pipeline Project. Every week, Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) provides free legal assistance and representation on civil (non-criminal) matters to hundreds of residents in the city of Boston and 31 surrounding cities and towns. When they have nowhere else to turn, families and individuals living in poverty, elders, and people with disabilities look to GBLS for help to secure the most basic necessities of life.

  • Matthew DelSesto | Sociology Department | Boston College


    Matt DelSesto is an author, educator, gardener, and sociologist.  His writing and teaching focus on sustainable communities and environmental justice, crime and corrections, and restorative justice.  In addition to teaching at colleges and universities or in community-based settings, he has taught or coordinated prison education programs for more than 15 years.  Most recently he developed an The Inside-Out Program at Boston College, which brings students from BC and incarcerated individuals together to study criminal justice, and the College Pathways Program, which prepares incarcerated men and women to navigate the logistics of higher education upon their release.  Matt recently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship with Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence Initiative at Emerson College.  Outside of higher education, Matt has been a collaborator and consultant for nonprofit leaders on research, program evaluation, event facilitation, grant writing, and strategic planning. 

  • Leon Smith | Executive Director | Citizens for Juvenile Justice


    Leon Smith has served as the executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ) since 2019. With a background as a juvenile court public defender and experience at the Vera Institute of Justice, Leon has dedicated his career to advocating for youth in the justice system. At the Center for Children’s Advocacy, he led efforts to reform Connecticut’s alternative schools and directed the Racial Justice Project, focusing on combating harsh school discipline, illegal school push-out, and targeting by law enforcement. He continues to contribute to juvenile justice reform in Massachusetts, including work on the Emerging Adult Justice Task Force and the School Resource Officer Memorandum of Understanding Commission.

  • Avery Farmer | Fellow | Citizens for Juvenile Justice


    Avery Farmer joined Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ)  in September 2024 as the School to Prison Pipeline Fellow. He worked on prison release cases as a law clerk with the Public Defender Service in D.C., reduced low-income clients' debt through Harvard's Consumer Protection Clinic, and published articles on criminal law and social change as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

  • Eleanor “Ellie” Bresnahan '19 | Counselor | Woburn Community Justice Support Center


    Ellie Bresnahan is a counselor at the Woburn Community Justice Support Center. The WCJSC is a court-ordered, community-based behavioral health center designed to divert individuals from incarceration and reduce their likelihood of re-offending. The WCJSC also supports re-entry for individuals leaving incarceration. Ellie is responsible for completing comprehensive assessments and intakes with court-involved individuals to construct personalized treatment plans that address their criminogenic needs. She facilitates psycho-educational curriculum to clients in group settings, as well as providing referrals and assistance to public benefits and community resource programs to address clients’ needs and reduce their risk for re-offense.  

  • Leah Wang | Senior Research Analyst | Prison Policy Initiative


    Leah Wang is a Senior Research Analyst at the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and advocacy organization dedicated to exposing the broader harms of mass incarceration. She has authored publications focused on the health of people in prisons and jails, conditions faced by people on parole and/or probation, and the environmental injustices created by mass incarceration. Leah holds a M.S in Sustainability Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a B.A in Economics and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College. Prior to joining the Prison Policy Initiative, Leah was an analyst at the Massachusetts Department of Correction, and has worked in agriculture, local food systems, and outdoor education.  

  • Mac Hudson | Paralegal | Prisoners’ Legal Services of MA


    Paralegal, Race Equity in Corrections Community Liaison Registered Lobbyist and Founder of Access Mass Mac is also formerly incarcerated, having served 33 years in prison, most of which for a crime he did not commit.  

  • Aryanna Mumford | Paralegal | Prisoners’ Legal Services of MA


    Paralegal working on the Prisoner Empowerment Project (PEP), which advocates for meaningful education and job training opportunities for incarcerated individuals to better support reentry and reduce recidivism 

  • Aidan Wang | English & History Departments | CSW


    Aidan Wang (he/him/his) teaches in the English and History Departments. This is his second year at CSW, and one of his favorite courses to teach is the 11-12 history elective "Rocking the Schoolhouse: History of U.S. Education." 

  • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Action (IDEA) Committee


    The IDEA Committee at CSW is a group of students (there are two representative per class) and adults whose purpose is to work together to make CSW an open and safe community that encourages all voices to be heard in a respectful manner, promoting the enrichment of our school culture through discussions, events and wide-ranging curricula. As a committee, the group seeks to foster a campus that provides a sense of inclusiveness that reflects the broad range of ages, races, genders, ethnicities, cultures, nationalities, religions, sexual orientations, social and economic classes, and physical and learning differences in our community.  

Workshop Descriptions

Breaking the Pipeline: Understanding and Disrupting the School to Prison System
Alison Sexson
This workshop explores the school-to-prison pipeline, examining how disciplinary policies and systemic inequities push students toward incarceration. Through discussion and real-world examples, participants will explore ways to challenge this cycle, including how Alison's work at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) actively disrupts these patterns.

Restorative Justice in Action: Community-Led Solutions
Matthew DelSesto
This workshop explores the growing movement to center community perspectives in justice conversations and decision-making, emphasizing restorative justice as an alternative to punitive systems. Participants will examine how community collaboration, resource-building, and restorative practices can prevent harm, address developmental needs, and disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.

Understanding the School-to-Prison Pipeline 
Leon Smith & Avery Farmer
This session will explore the dual pathways that push students out of school and into the justice system: excessive suspensions/expulsions and in-school arrests for behaviors better addressed through restorative practices. Participants will discuss the impact of these practices and learn about alternative approaches that keep students connected to their school community and on a path to success.

A Path Forward: Alternatives to Incarceration
Eleanor “Ellie” Bresnahan '19

During this session, participants will explore alternatives to incarceration through a variety of perspectives, including Restorative and Transformative Justice practices. The aim of this session is to gain a broader understanding of what it means to keep our communities safe while working towards humane and just ways to address harm.

Youth Confinement: The Big Picture
Leah Wang
In this workshop, participants will learn about how youth are confined in the United States. There are various ways that youth are brought into juvenile justice and adult criminal-legal systems, and various ways that data are captured and published. Using Prison Policy Initiative's powerful data aggregation and visualization techniques, we will look at the youth justice system in as many ways as we can, noticing trends, disparities, and opportunities for meaningful change.

From Classroom to Cellblock: Breaking the Cycle from Within
Mac Hudson & Aryanna Mumford
This workshop will focus on what happens once individuals enter the system, how prison policies reinforce incarceration rather than rehabilitation, and what needs to change to truly break the cycle. Together, our guests work at Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS) of Massachusetts. As members of the PLS Race Equity Team, each plays a key role in advocating for incarcerated individuals and addressing systemic barriers to reentry.
Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS) of Massachusetts aims to challenge the carceral system through litigation, advocacy, client counseling, partnership with impacted individuals and communities, and outreach to policymakers and the public in order to promote the human rights of incarcerated persons and end harmful confinement.

“The Brutalist, Part II?" – Examining U.S. Prison & School Architecture & Design
Aidan Wang
Writing in 1975 in his book Discipline and Punish, French philosopher Michel Foucault pondered, "Is it surprising that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons?" In this Social Justice Day Workshop, we will consider this chicken-and-the-egg paradox, examining the links between prison and school design, particularly in the second half of the 20th century. We will use a plethora of photos, building plans, and diagrams from both prisons and schools to ask questions on how architecture relates to institutions' overall goals.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Action (IDEA) Committee 

The IDEA Committee at CSW is a group of students (there are two representative per class) and adults whose purpose is to work together to make CSW an open and safe community that encourages all voices to be heard in a respectful manner, promoting the enrichment of our school culture through discussions, events and wide-ranging curricula. As a committee, the group seeks to foster a campus that provides a sense of inclusiveness that reflects the broad range of ages, races, genders, ethnicities, cultures, nationalities, religions, sexual orientations, social and economic classes, and physical and learning differences in our community. 

Parent/Guardian Workshop

Restorative Justice: Keeping Kids in Class, Not the System
A Virtual Workshop for Parents & Guardians 
April 23, 2025 | 7 p.m.–8 p.m. EST

Parents and guardians are invited to join the conversation with Eliaquin “Quin” Gonell, M.Ed., Manager of Restorative Justice at Lawrence High School in Lawrence, MA. During the virtual workshop “Restorative Justice: Keeping Kids in Class, Not the System,” Quin will share how restorative practices can foster a safer, more inclusive school environment, helping students build stronger connections and find pathways to success.

Learn more and register here!
45 Georgian Road | Weston, MA 02493 | 781-642-8600

CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.