Coffee Creek AICs Make History Earning Distinguished Toastmasters Award

Two women housed at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) have become the only two incarcerated women in the nation to earn the Distinguished Toastmasters Award. This is the highest individual honor you can achieve in Pathways, Toastmasters’ education program. For both Angela Kim and Carolyn Exum, this distinction was over seven years in the making, so we asked them to reflect on the experience in their own words. Read their stories below.

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OSP’s First Spanish “Art of Communications” Grads

Oregon State Penitentiary graduated it’s first Spanish Art of Communication class! Art of Communication is a 10 week course created by Chaplain Persinger at SRCI. Students learn skills on how to actively listen and speak effectively. The skills are then used to build positive relationships and resolve conflicts when they occur. (Articulo en español abajo)

Coffee Creek and OCE Recognize Another Outstanding DMV Agent

Adult in Custody Desserrey Cheney poses with her award certificate

This quarter’s STAR award, given to a Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) DMV agent for outstanding work at the call center, was presented to Desserrey Cheney. Cheney is an adult in custody (AIC) at Coffee Creek, and her role as a DMV call center agent is made possible by the Oregon Department of Correction’s (DOC) partnership with Oregon Corrections Enterprises.

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Coffee Creek’s Life-changing Cosmetology Program

Coffee Creek Correctional Facility’s (CCCF) cosmetology program is about more than manicures and dye jobs. For many of the women incarcerated at CCCF, the program is the first step in making a better life for themselves. Whether they are training in the Hair Design program or having tattoos removed that remind them of a painful past, the program offers hope for a brighter future.

The messages below were submitted by three adults in custody (AICs) at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility who have experience with the cosmetology program. They have been edited for clarity by the Oregon DOC Office of Communications.

AIC Sarah Erickson, Advanced Aesthetics student

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