Khalil Osiris is an author, college professor and pastor who spent 20 years of his life in prison. During his incarceration at Norfolk Prison Colony in Massachusetts, he earned a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from Boston University—aware of the historic significance of the facts that Norfolk was where Malcolm X served time and Boston University was where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., earned his doctoral degree.

While in prison, Khalil organized book clubs to promote literacy, formed prisoner study groups and created numerous programs based on the philosophy and principals of restorative justice. His message to fellow prisoners was (and still is) “turn the cell into a classroom and the prison into a university.”

Since his release, Khalil has co-authored two books: Talking Listening with Care: A Communication Guide for Singles and Couples and The Psychology of Incarceration: A Distortion of The State of Belonging – which is also the name of the course he teaches at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Recognized by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as an “approved institutional reentry program”, The Psychology of Incarceration© program focuses on the relation between state-imposed incarceration and self-imposed limitations. It is designed to promote cognitive, emotional, and behavioral ownership among incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women, particularly as it relates to their reentry and recovery. Khalil teaches, “Everything is explainable, nothing is excusable”.

A senior consultant for Osiris & Associates, LLC, Khalil is a dynamic speaker and engaging trainer. In addition, he is a founding member of the Right 2 Work Alliance, a non-profit membership organization established to help people with felony convictions overcome barriers to employment.

Khalil is a nationally recognized expert on reentry. He lectures around the country on topics ranging from restorative justice and workforce development to reducing recidivism and mentoring children of incarcerated parents. Building on his life experiences and professional training, his work focuses on helping people overcome self-imposed limitations, which he says is a form of incarceration.

A columnist for RED!Webzine (www.redwebzine.org), Khalil provides readers a visceral encounter with incarcerated men and women who are struggling from the bowels of prison to transform their lives.

As pastor of the Community Church located in Columbus, Ohio, Khalil was called to establish a ministry to assist formerly incarcerated men and women successfully transition from prison to their families and community. His ministry focuses on helping people learn how to develop, nurture and sustain God-centered relationships in every aspect of their lives. Khalil believes “churches are fundamentally social institutions, whose leaders and members have an obligation to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the sick, embrace the stranger, and visit the imprisoned.”