Alycia Welch M.P.Aff., M.S.S.W.

Associate Director, Prison and Jail Innovation Lab, USA

Alycia Welch is the Associate Director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab (PJIL) at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where her scholarship focuses on the safe and humane treatment of people in custody and where she regularly advises policymakers and agencies on prison and jail conditions. She also co-instructs graduate-level policy research courses on prison reform. Recently, she was appointed as the Vice Chair of ICPA’s Network on External Prison Oversight and Human Rights. 

Previously, Alycia directed a transitional housing program for women exiting prison or jail, developed an alternative to incarceration program for young adults, oversaw a multistate initiative providing training and technical assistance on behavioral health and criminal justice issues, and as an analyst in the Texas legislature, helped establish changes to the criminal legal and public health systems. The recipient of several national policy research awards, Alycia has authored numerous reports on developing more humane approaches to corrections. She is a co-author of The Pandemic Gender Gap Behind Bars, a report on how COVID affected women in custody and how correctional agencies should adjust their approach to better meet women’s needs. She also served on the Sheriff’s Advisory Committee on the Travis County (Texas) Women’s Jail and co-authored a roadmap for the county, which has been used to guide similar changes across the U.S. 

Alycia holds a M.P.Aff. and an M.S.S.W. from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as two B.A.s from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Brie Williams M.D., M.S.

Director, Amend (University of California San Francisco), USA

Dr. Brie Williams is a Professor of Medicine in the UCSF Division of Health and Society, with training in internal medicine, geriatrics, and palliative care. She directs Amend, which draws on medical ethics, occupational health, and international correctional best practices to address conditions that perpetuate trauma, violence, and health inequities among incarcerated people and prison staff. She also co-directs the Aging Research in Criminal Justice Health (ARCH) Network, funded by the National Institute on Aging, which builds evidence at the intersection of aging, serious illness, and criminal legal system involvement. Dr. Williams' research has yielded new methods for evaluating the health needs of incarcerated older adults, helped shape compassionate release policies, and introduced international reform models to reduce the use of isolation and solitary confinement in US prisons. She has consulted for jails, prisons, and legal organizations throughout the US.

Alison Pachynski

Chief Medical Executive, San Quentin, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, USA

Dr. Alison Pachynski is the Chief Medical Executive at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQRC). 

She received her BA in Neuroscience and Behavior, her medical degree from University of California San Francisco and a Master in Public Health from University of California Berkeley. She completed residency in Internal Medicine at UCSF/SFGH.

After a few years working in a bilingual safety net clinic and as a hospitalist, Dr. Pachynski joined San Quentin State Prison as a primary care provider in 2007. In 2021 she was named Healthcare Professional of the Year.

She oversees the medical care of 2,500 individuals and runs the incarcerated Peer Support Specialist Program. She was part of the Reimagining San Quentin Advisory Council and is currently working to establish an Age-Friendly Health System at SQRC.