The Empowerment Exchange: Reclaim, Rebuild, and Rise

On May 16, 2026, Constructing Our Future welcomed women from across Indianapolis to attend The Empowerment Exchange, an afternoon dedicated to connection, personal growth, and career readiness for women impacted by the justice system.

Held at Broadway United Methodist Church, the event brought together women seeking encouragement, practical tools, and meaningful opportunities as they continue building their futures. The Empowerment Exchange was created to provide a supportive space where participants could learn from one another, gain confidence, and access resources that support long-term success.

The program featured dynamic women leaders and professionals from across the city of Indianapolis and included a Women's Empowerment Discussion, where panelists shared personal and professional insights about overcoming obstacles, pursuing goals, and navigating the challenges and opportunities that come with rebuilding life after incarceration. The leaders also demonstrated mock interviews designed to strengthen participants communication skills and increase confidence when seeking employment.

Most importantly, formerly incarcerated women had opportunities to network, build new relationships, and connect with others who understand the unique experiences of justice-impacted women.

The afternoon also included refreshments, door prizes, and goodie bags, creating a welcoming atmosphere that celebrated each participant's commitment to growth and self-determination.

At Constructing Our Future, we believe that every woman deserves the opportunity to reclaim her future, rebuild her life, and rise to her full potential. Events like The Empowerment Exchange are an important part of that mission, bringing women together to share knowledge, strengthen community, and create pathways to success.

We extend our gratitude to all of the participants, leaders and professionals, and partners who helped make this event possible. Together, we continue constructing a future where women are defined not by their past, but by their potential.

Special thanks to our board member, Natasha Standard for coordinating this event.

Michelle Daniel

Michelle Daniel Jones, ABD is a sixth-year doctoral student in the American Studies New York University. Michelle’s dissertation focuses on creative liberation strategies of incarcerated people. As an organizer, collaborator, and subject matter expert she creates opportunities to speak truth to power and serves in the development and operation of taskforces and initiatives to reduce harm and end mass incarceration. She has joined Second Chance Educational Alliance as a Senior Research Consultant and the Women Transcending Oral History Project as a co-researcher. and serves on the boards of Worth Rises and Correctional Association of New York and advisory boards of the Jamii Sisterhood, the Survivor’s Justice Project, The Education Trust, Urban Institute and ITHAKA's Higher Ed in Prison Project.

She is Executive Director of Constructing Our Future, a housing organization created by incarcerated women in Indiana. Michelle author and co-editor of the award-winning Who Would Believe a Prisoner: Indiana Women’s Carceral Institutions, 1848-1920, published by the New Press. As an artist, Michelle finds ways to funnel her research into theater, dance and photography. Her co-authored play, “The Duchess of Stringtown” was produced in 2017 in Indianapolis and New York and her artist installation about weaponized stigma, “Point of Triangulation,” ran in New York 2019 and 2020, Philadelphia 2021 with a public mural. “Makes Me Wanna Holla: Art, Death and Imprisonment, explores COVID-19 in prisons, ran in Chicago 2023 and producer on the film, Degrees of Freedom that premiered in 2024.

https://www.michelledanieljones@gmail.com
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