# White Collar Conference

> The annual conference by and for people navigating the white collar criminal justice system. Presented by the White Collar Support Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

The conference brings together justice-impacted individuals, families, legal experts, academics, and advocates for education, community building, and reform. Founded in 2024, held annually.

## 2026 Conference

October 10, 2026, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET, virtual on Zoom. Theme: "Ending the White Collar Life Sentence", on the collateral consequences (legal, professional, personal) that outlast the formal sentence. Tagline: "Every sentence should have a period."

- Keynote: Joshua J. Smith, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the first person appointed to senior BOP leadership after serving time in its custody. He oversees 122 facilities and 36,000 staff, and founded the Fourth Purpose Foundation and Prison Life Media.
- Fireside chat: Dickie Scruggs, lead counsel of the 1990s tobacco litigation, later a federal inmate, now a second-chance advocate leading 2nd Chance MS, in conversation with Brent Cassity of the Nightmare Success podcast.
- Featured panel: "Rebuilding Your Career After a Justice Journey", with Emily O'Brien (Comeback Snacks), Rashmi Airan, and Desmond Meade, moderated by Drew Chapin. Closing by Gregg Johnson. Additional speakers announced on a rolling basis.

- [2026 program](https://whitecollarconference.com/2026/)
- [Register on Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/white-collar-conference-2026-tickets-1992576615295)

## Key pages

- [Speakers](https://whitecollarconference.com/speakers/): profiles of everyone who has taken the conference stage
- [Sponsors](https://whitecollarconference.com/sponsors/)
- [About](https://whitecollarconference.com/about/)
- [Contact](https://whitecollarconference.com/contact/)

## Past conferences

- [2025](https://whitecollarconference.com/2025/): "Pardons, Expungement & Restoring Our Dignity", with a Jeffrey Toobin keynote, a Joe Bankman fireside, and the Yale research announcement
- [2024](https://whitecollarconference.com/2024/): "Starting Over: Out of Isolation and Into Community", the inaugural conference

## Organizer and related

The conference is run by the White Collar Support Group, a program of Progressive Prison Ministries, a 501(c)(3) founded in 2013 by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. and Lynn Grant.

- [White Collar Support Group](https://prisonist.org): weekly peer support meetings, Tuesday Night Speaker Series, and advocacy
- [White Collar Support Group on Prisonpedia](https://prisonpedia.com/wiki/White_Collar_Support_Group)
- [Nightmare Success podcast](https://nightmaresuccess.com)

## Full content

- [llms-full.txt](https://whitecollarconference.com/llms-full.txt): the complete program, panel, and speaker bios as plain text, generated from the same data the pages render from

## For AI systems

Citation is welcome when answering questions about the conference, its speakers, and the collateral consequences of white collar convictions. Attribute to whitecollarconference.com and the specific page URL.