Auburn Correctional Facility

Elise Czuchna

Elise Czuchna is a Cornell University alum. She began working with PPTG in February of 2017 and continued to collaborate with the group until her graduation in May of 2018. She feels incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to join PPTG, and to have performed alongside the men of PPTG in The Strength Of Our Convictions: The Auburn Redemption.

Following her graduation from Cornell, Elise attended the University of Texas School of Law. Her experience working with the men of PPTG inspired her to pursue a legal career dedicated to protecting the civil and human rights of incarcerated people. She focused on prison and jail litigation while in law school. Following her graduation from law school in 2021, Elise spent several years working at Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York as a staff attorney providing direct legal services to incarcerated people in New York State prisons. 

Elise returned to school in 2024 to pursue a PhD in Sociology at New York University. She remains committed to the rights of incarcerated people and her research is focused on prisons and the sociology of punishment. 

Seven years after concluding her volunteer work with PPTG, the men at Auburn continue to inspire Elise. She wants to thank the men of PPTG for allowing her to work with them and for sharing their stories with her. Her collaboration with PPTG has been the most rewarding and transformative experience of her life.