Discussion Topics: restorative justice practices | mental health counseling and college students | access to higher education in prison | trauma informed care
Travels From: Pennsylvania
Divine Lipscomb is the first African American Council Member in the State College Borough. Formerly an incarcerated scholar at Penn State in the Counseling Education Department with an emphasis in clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling, he is a graduate assistant for the Restorative Justice Initiative at Penn State’s Prison Education Program.
By the time he was 16, he’d already had two felony arrests for armed robbery and was sentenced to four years in state prison, 15 months of which were spent in solitary confinement.
He credits his time in prison with saving his life and inspiring him to pursue education and personal growth. After his release, Lipscomb found success as an entrepreneur: the self-sufficiency and freedom he felt inspired his vision for Corrective Gentlemen, his non-profit organization providing support and mentoring for returned citizens—a term Lipscomb prefers to “former inmate.”
In 2020, his academic achievements and advocacy were recognized with Penn State University’s “Outstanding Adult Learners Award” and the Rock Ethics Institute’s “Stand Up Award.” Today, Lipscomb is a rehabilitation and human services major at Penn State and works as the special projects coordinator for the school’s Restorative Justice Initiative. In addition, he volunteers at the local drop-in shelter to support returning citizens and is active in organizations that allow his experience to lend a voice to the unheard.
