Visionary behind innovative Santa Clara County jail program honored with national award

Patrick Marshall, manager of the inmate rehabilitation program for the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, has received some well-deserved recognition from the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Learning.

Marshall was recently presented with the group’s Equity and Social Justice Change Agent award for his work on the College Collaborative System, a partnership between the Sheriff’s Office and six Bay Area community colleges that gives incarcerated students the opportunity to receive a college education.

“I am so honored to get the award because it’s about the collaboration of the community coming together, the colleges coming together to work with me to design and build the program,” Marshall said. “We’re changing the jail into a college. And it means the world to me because we’re trying to make a difference for these individuals.”

Marshall was joined at the conference in Hawaii by presidents of several of the colleges he works with — Gavilan College President Pedro Avila; Ohlone College President Charles Sasaki; San Jose City College President Rowena Tomaneng; and Mission College President Seher Awan — and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Cap. Gurpreet Gill, who works with Marshall on the program.

The program started with just two colleges and two courses in 2020 and has grown to six colleges with more than 20 educational and vocational offerings today for hundreds of inmates. As Marshall puts it, the real miracle has been turning the jail into a college campus.

“The College College Collaborative System is important because it gives individuals in jail a chance to have hope and opportunity — education to truly better themselves,” Marshall said. “They can go out in the community and apply what they’ve learned.”

Rev. Jethroe Moore II, president of the NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley, praised Marshall saying his “life and work stand as a testament to the power and resilience inherent within the principle of Black Excellence” but expressed his disappointment in Santa Clara County, saying its leaders ignored an opportunity to honor a exemplary Black leader in its ranks.

“It is imperative that we, as a community, stand together in support of our leaders who, despite facing unwarranted obstacles, continue to light the path toward a more equitable and just society for all,” Moore said.

DOWNTOWN MOVES: It’s going to be a busy evening in downtown San Jose on Thursday. The monthly City Dance San Jose series returns for its eighth year, kicking off with Salsa at the Circle of Palms outside the San Jose Museum of Art. If you’ve never been to one, the free series — which starts at 6 p.m. — provides dance lessons from pros, followed by dancing to music from a live band or DJ.

San Jose Museum of Art provides free admission on City Dance nights, and the Cafecito by Mezcal inside the museum will have a special menu on. Future City Dance dates and genres are July 18 (Bollywood), Aug. 15 (Vogue and Waacking ) and Sept. 19 (Country).

The second of Urban Vibrancy Institute’s block parties also will be taking place Thursday in downtown’s SoFA district from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. You can walk around and soak up some live music or take part in lots of activities at venues throughout the artsy neighborhood. There’ll be free popcorn and tours of the California Theatre, line dancing at Mama Kin, open mic poetry at Nirvana Soul and a free yoga class at 5:30 p.m. at Downtown Yoga Shala.

COSTUMES WELCOME: The fourth annual Stars and Strides Run is set for June 29 in downtown San Jose, supporting the Valley Health Foundation. A few costumed superheroes are expected to touchdown by helicopter again this year at Discovery Meadow, but if you’re running in the 5K/10K race, you’re welcome to wear a costume, too.

Alaska Airlines is providing a pair of round-trip tickets to the winners of two of the costume contests in the “Independence Day-themed” and “Non-Independence Day-themed” categories. There’s also a group costume category, with a gift-basket prize. Costume judging will take place at about 7:15 a.m. before the race starts at 8 a.m. Go to www.starsandstridesrun.com to register for the race.