Experience the 2024 Prison Leadership Conference on Demand
Enjoy a firsthand look at our annual symposium-style event held inside the Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City, MO, in May 2024.
our annual event brings hope to prisons
Residents, prison staff, and multiple partner organizations joined together at Algoa Correctional Center for a day of learning, inspiration, and worship.
We welcome you to view the session replays below and see how the Growth & Leadership Academy (GLA) transforms the lives of those behind bars, helping inspire men with the will to take responsibility for life itself.
Then, please explore our website to learn more about our mission and discover opportunities to engage with our community.
Morning Sessions:
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Welcome to the Prison Leadership Conference at Algoa Correctional Center!
The event kicked off with opening remarks from Warden Kelly Morriss, Deputy Warden Kyle Kempker, and event organizers Bo Cornelius and Stacey Kidd.
Hear the stories of how the many diverse partner organizations came together to help make this day of education and celebration possible.
Speaker: David Ashcraft, GLN President & CEO
Recounting impactful moments with leaders who spoke into his own life, David emphasizes that quiet, thoughtful words can profoundly influence others. He encourages the audience to recognize their inherent value and the unique roles they play, urging them to inspire and support those around them.
Fourth Purpose Panel: Transformational change in prison
The event’s second Panel Discussion was hosted by Josh Smith of Fourth Purpose and featured Myles Strid, DAI Director, MODOC, Bo Cornelius, Second Mountain Founder, and Kyle Kempker, Deputy Warden at Algoa Correctional Center. Their discussion emphasized the importance of empowering both staff and inmates, improving internal relationships, and fostering leadership skills to aid reentry into society, in addition to discussions about future statewide implementation of the Global Leadership Academy.
GLA Panel: How it started and the journey to now
The first Panel Discussion of the day featured GLA Members Aidan Allen and Kenneth Clayton, as well as Second Mountain Founder Bo Cornelius and Algoa’s Deputy Warden, Kyle Kemker.
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Sparked by Bo’s experience at the 2019 Global Leadership Summit, and despite initial challenges including the COVID pandemic, what began as an annual viewing of the Global Leadership Summit evolved into a structured, resident-driven program that promotes leadership through preparation, facilitation, and group engagement. The panel members share stories of personal experiences, collaboration among participants, and the broadening of the program to include staff and more structured leadership teams.
GLA Presentations
Next, the event transitioned into a series of segments featuring sponsors and members of the Global Leadership Academy (GLA) at Algoa Correctional Center.
Witness their stories and insights, inspired by presentations of past Global Leadership Summit speakers, highlighting the incredible benefits of this unique approach to leadership formation on both staff and residents.
Afternoon Sessions:
Dan Owolabi on authentic Leadership
In a compelling afternoon session, Dan Owolabi, CEO of the nonprofit Branches Worldwide, discusses the significance of authentic leadership and the destructive nature of insecurity. Sharing personal anecdotes, ranging from his experience growing up as a black child with deaf Nigerian immigrant parents to a life-altering car accident, Dan highlights the struggles of creating a false persona to mask insecurities.
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He emphasizes that true leadership stems from authenticity—being the best version of oneself in service to others—and illustrates this through examples like the disciplines of 'pushing your rock' and 'grabbing your towel.' Dan concludes by urging the audience to lead with nothing to hide, prove, or lose, leaning into the purpose that God designed for them.
Aiden & AJ share their experience in the DOC
Following up Dan's impactful presentation, GLA Member Aiden Allen and GLA Sponsor AJ share personal stories battling insecurities and the transformative journey they've experienced within the Department of Corrections.
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Aidan details his troubled upbringing, self-destructive behavior, and eventual incarceration, while AJ recounts his path from insecurity as a young corrections officer to embracing authentic leadership, influenced by supportive colleagues and DOC's culture changes.
Both emphasize the impact of authenticity on leadership and conflict resolution through lessons learned as a result of their mutual involvement with the Global Leadership Academy.
GLA Presentations
More GLA members share stories and insights inspired by presentations of past Global Leadership Summit speakers, highlighting the incredible benefits of this unique approach to leadership formation on both staff and residents.
Evening Sessions:
The evening draws to a close with worship led by the Willow Creek Worship Team and special guest, GLA Member Daniel Hester.
The evening draws to a close with worship led by the Willow Creek Worship Team and special guest, GLA Member Daniel Hester.
Former resident of Algoa Correctional Center, Louis Dooley shares his journey from incarceration to leadership
Louis emphasizes the importance of environment, community, church involvement, and seeking help in personal transformation.
His powerful testimony underscores the power of faith, community support, and the desire to make a positive impact through leadership.
Our final conference segment concludes the day with a talk by featured speaker, Todd Henry...
Henry shares personal stories highlighting the importance of bravery, leadership, and acting in courageous moments.
The session concludes with Henry encouraging attendees to act bravely, live life without regrets, and seek fulfillment in their endeavors.
Finally, the event itself wraps up with expressions of gratitude from the event organizers. Thank you for your own participation!
Stacey Kidd and Richard Van Arsdale outline the decades-long Willow Creek initiative of distributing over 580,000 Christmas gifts, referred to as Hope Packs, to incarcerated individuals.
Originally initiated by a team of volunteers in 2013, the effort began with a target of 20,000 Hope Packs and grew to a global expansion impacting 65,000 incarcerated individuals worldwide to date.
Learn more about Hope Packs, their emotional impact on inmates, and the broader objective of fostering relationships between churches and prisons.
In a very important dance break, attendees are...
.. encouraged to get up and move! It's been a long day filled with inspiration and learning, but there's still more to come.
So join us, stand up, and bust a move!
Let’s continue the conversation
If you, like us, believe incarcerated individuals deserve a better future, let’s talk. Together we can help them begin a fresh start to the rest of their lives and change prison culture from the inside out.