Education

by

FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 5, 2023 – ViaPath Technologies, a global corrections technology leader which facilitates successful reintegration for incarcerated individuals, today announced the promotion of Tony Lowden to Chief Social Impact Officer. Lowden previously served as Vice President of Reintegration & Community Engagement. 

“Tony has been an indispensable member of our leadership team whose decades of experience and expertise have helped ViaPath change the lives of millions of people,” said ViaPath CEO Deb Alderson. “As Chief Social Impact Officer, Tony will further galvanize our mission to provide justice-involved individuals the education, training, and resources they need to successfully reintegrate into their communities.” 

In his new role, Lowden will be responsible for ViaPath’s social impact initiatives including second chance hiring, community engagement, and reentry efforts. He will also work with ViaPath’s leadership team and partners to leverage opportunities for community support and build collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, community leaders, and civic and political decision-makers. 

Lowden brings more than 20 years of experience helping incarcerated youths and adults access educational and career opportunities and become contributing members of their communities. In 2012, he was appointed by former Georgia Governor Nathan Deal as the State Charter School Commissioner. He has also served as the Project Coordinator for the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and as the Director of Faith and Justice Initiative for the Georgia Governor’s Office of Transition Support and Reentry. Lowden founded and is the former Executive Director of STONE Academy, an after-school enrichment program for at-risk children in Georgia’s Macon-Bibb County. 

Prior to joining ViaPath in 2022, Lowden served as the Chaplain for the Secret Service in southwest Georgia. He was also appointed by the White House in 2020 to serve as the Executive Director of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry. Lowden is the pastor of former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. 

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for both current and formerly incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

by

Online Learning for Incarcerated Individuals

The implementation of online learning technology to expand educational opportunities among the nation’s incarcerated population is a compassionate, cost-efficient way to break the cycle of incarceration, reduce instances of recidivism, and improve the reintegration process for formerly incarcerated individuals, their families, and their communities. 

Read More
About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for previously incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com. 

by

National Suicide Prevention Month is recognized every September to help educate on a crisis that is plaguing people of all ages, genders, and nationalities. Across the United States, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death for all age groups, and the second leading cause of death among adults 25 to 44.  

Suicidal thoughts can affect anyone, and there is a dire need for an increased focus on suicide prevention — both inside and out of corrections facilities.   

To help make a positive impact, ViaPath Technologies partners with several organizations to provide individuals with resources designed to improve mental health and overall wellness during incarceration. Plus, ViaPath also offers multiple communication options, promoting connections to keep people together even when separated by incarceration.  

Through ViaPath’s Inspire Tablets, incarcerated individuals have access to applications that promote positive attitudes and increases morale by providing the opportunity to read books, watch movies, listen to music, play games, take educational courses, read religious texts, and meditate.   

  • A partnership with Dr. Christian Conte, a mental health specialist in the field of anger and emotional management, provides unique content and videos to the tablets, focusing on the mental and emotional health of incarcerated individuals.  
  • ViaPath Technologies’ partnership with CypherWorx helps to leverage over 30 mental health and suicide prevention programs, giving incarcerated individuals at nearly 2,000 correctional facilities across the country access to vital resources. 
  • Breaking Free from Substance Abuse assists individuals in achieving and maintaining recovery from dependence on over 70 different substances.  
  • The Peace Education Program from the Prem Rawat Foundation, offered on our ViaPath Inspire Tablets helps improve mental health and well-being by renewing a sense of purpose in participants.  

For returning citizens or family and friends that are suffering, there are many resources and organizations ready to help.  

  • The Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 for those that need assistance for themselves or a friend or loved one.  
  • The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers resources for suicide prevention, including resources focused on diverse communities.  
  • Give an Hour is a national network of professionals who volunteer their time to provide free and confidential mental health care to specific populations, increasing the likelihood that those in need receive the support and care they deserve.  
  • The nation’s leading community-based nonprofit focused on suicide prevention, Mental Health America, is dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all Americans.  

 If you or someone you know is in an emergency, dial 988, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255), or or dial 911 immediately.  

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for previously incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com. 

by

Current and formerly incarcerated individuals can access eLearning platform, pursue education credentials, earn business certifications, learn life skills, and more 

September 13, 2022 (Falls Church, VA & Rochester, NY) — ViaPath Technologies, a global corrections technology leader which facilitates connections, educational opportunities, and successful reintegration for incarcerated individuals, today announced a partnership with CypherWorx, an accredited and award-winning eLearning solutions provider.  

Through this exclusive agreement, ViaPath Technologies will leverage CypherWorx’s Learning Management Systems (LMS) to provide educational options to incarcerated individuals at nearly 2,000 correctional facilities across the country. These courses provide both current and formerly incarcerated individuals with life skills, education, job training and certifications to aid in successful reintegration.  

“We are proud to be working with CypherWorx to give current and formerly incarcerated individuals best-in-class tools, resources and programs to prepare them for whatever career path inspires them, from manufacturing to healthcare to information technology,” said Deb Alderson, CEO of ViaPath Technologies. “Our holistic approach to rehabilitation ensures that individuals who start education and training during their sentences can continue to use these critical resources after release.” 

For currently incarcerated individuals, the partnership provides expanded education content, career pathway assessments, and opportunities to earn professional certifications and credentials, including GEDs, MS, AWS, CompTIA certifications, and home inspection or real estate licenses. For formerly incarcerated individuals, ViaPath will extend access to the content they had access to while incarcerated for a full year post-release, and provide a host of additional education, training materials and services, such as résumé writing and job interview preparation.  

“Our experience in the adult learning industry has positioned us to be an extremely useful education content provider for a diverse group of industries, including corrections,” said Paul Cypher, President & CEO of CypherWorx. “By coupling our expertise with ViaPath’s understanding of the needs of incarcerated and post-incarcerated communities, we are building better pathways to reintegration and reducing recidivism.”     

ViaPath’s expanded Reintegration Services are available to currently incarcerated individuals through the company’s Inspire® Tablet which allows inmates to connect with loved ones and access entertainment and educational content. Formerly incarcerated individuals will be able to access the expanded reentry program through a portal on viapath.com.  

Since October 2021, nearly 50,000 incarcerated users in correctional facilities across the country have completed more than 2 million hours of online course work on the Inspire tablet.  

About CypherWorx: 

CypherWorx is a leading, accredited and award-winning provider of customized eLearning solutions for the government, public, non-profit and small business sectors. This includes corrections, childcare, zoos and cultural attractions, health and human services and K-12/higher education, business and professional development, safety and security.  To learn more, visit cypherworx.com. 

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for previously incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com. 

by

In less than one year, the corrections technology leader has overseen the successful completion of nearly half a million courses by incarcerated individuals using the ViaPath learning management system 

Updated Oct. 13, 2022 (Falls Church, VA) — ViaPath Technologies, a global corrections technology leader which facilitates connections, educational opportunities, and successful reintegration for incarcerated individuals, recently surpassed a milestone of three million learning hours completed by incarcerated individuals on the ViaPath Inspire® tablets. ViaPath’s learning management system (LMS) is currently utilized in correctional facilities all across the United States. 

Since launching in October 2021, ViaPath’s LMS has been used by nearly 70,000 incarcerated individuals who have completed over 645,000 online courses. The courses are free of charge to all tablet users and cover a wide range of both personal and professional topics. Among the most commonly accessed and completed are courses on substance addiction recovery, financial literacy, and culinary arts training.   

“Education is essential to growth and is a foundational component to breaking the cycle of incarceration,” said Deb Alderson, CEO of ViaPath Technologies. “We could not be prouder of the individuals across the country who have embraced ViaPath’s learning systems as a means to improve their personal outcomes. We look forward to continuing to grow our content offerings and bringing our tablets into more facilities in the near future.” 

Certificates are awarded to incarcerated individuals that successfully complete courses, based on their corrections facility’s schedule of access to the tablets. Upon release, returning citizens can continue to access certain services for one year post incarceration, allowing for a smoother reintegration into their communities.  

“ViaPath Technologies may have provided the resources, but the credit for reaching this milestone really belongs to the incarcerated men and women who have shown a remarkable dedication to educate and improve themselves,” said Tony Lowden, ViaPath’s Vice President of Reintegration and Community Engagement. “It is a true privilege to help these individuals prepare to reintegrate into society with pride and purpose, and use the education and training they’ve received to obtain gainful employment and be productive participants in their communities.”   

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for previously incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.