Jonalyn Miceli Cain, CEO
Jonalyn Miceli Cain co-founded Prison Seminaries Foundation with her husband Burl Cain in 2016 and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer. Her life, work, and religious experience uniquely qualify her to lead Prison Seminaries Foundation into the future.
Jonalyn and Burl understood that traditional rehabilitation models failed to adequately address a prisoner’s need for moral rehabilitation as a means for achieving safer prisons and reducing recidivism. Starting with a small group of inmates at Angola, Jonalyn helped develop and implement an entire curriculum emphasizing Biblical tenants which include servanthood, social justice, forgiveness, loving and respecting others, which is now being followed at twenty-six different facilities in 17 states. In furtherance of her calling, she attended Mid-America College and was ordained to the ministry.
During her twelve years with the Louisiana Department of Corrections, she helped develop and implement programs for the State of Louisiana designed to reduce recidivism and improve public safety. At Prison Enterprises, a division of Department of Corrections that employs inmates, Jonalyn helped develop, implement and audit programs that taught inmates occupational trades, agricultural production techniques, and valuable services, to ease re-entry and reduce recidivism. Her focus on outcomes led to Louisiana becoming the first state to implement performance-based standards for correctional agriculture and industry programs, achieving 100% audit compliance in 2000. As part of her effort to assess the success of these programs Jonalyn also worked as a re-entry program manager and served on a commission charged with coordinating reentry strategies and served numerous other State boards and commissions.
Jonalyn values opportunities for community service. Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina she led a mission to acquire and transport food, water, clothing, and other necessities, donated by churches and businesses to destitute residents of New Orleans. She served on a Christian counseling board and is a passionate advocate for people suffering from rare diseases.
In 2013 she was privileged to have a private audience with Pope Francis, in Rome, where she provided him with a ceremonial key to Angola. The honor inspired her to focus her energy on prison reform which would prepare prisoners to successfully re-enter society.
Life has prepared Jonalyn to represent and perform the needful work of Prison Seminaries Foundation as it continues its mission.
