Maya Schenwar '05 is the editor-in-chief of truth-out.org and author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn't Work and How We Can Do Better, which depicts the shortcomings of America’s prison system through stories of prisoners and their families. She has also written extensively about the prison-industrial complex for a number of publications, including The New York Times, Salon, and The Guardian. In a reading from Locked Down, Locked Out, Schenwar discusses her research and findings, including the impact of prison on families and communities.

Schenwar graduated from Swarthmore in 2005 with an Honors English literature major and women's studies minor. She is interviewed about her work in The Sun.