Chitra Ranganathan Ph.D.’s Post

The TDCJ promotional video featuring Officer Elliot Ruiz sheds light on his career and experiences but also exposes the deep flaws of TDCJ.  While Ruiz’s dedication may be sincere, the video is less about him and more about a system skilled at masking its true nature.  TDCJ avoids discussions of rehabilitation and justice, offering instead propaganda designed to maintain a facade while perpetuating dehumanizing practices.  What is notably absent is any mention of TDCJ’s mission: "to provide public safety, promote positive change in offender behavior, reintegrate offenders into society, and assist victims of crime."  The incarcerated individuals central to that mission are rendered invisible, reduced to silent props in the background.  This treatment reflects a system uninterested in rehabilitation and focused solely on control.  The only indirect reference to the incarcerated comes when Ruiz says, "No matter what ‘they’ do to me."  Who is “they”?  The video’s ambiguity avoids acknowledging these individuals as human beings deserving dignity and a chance to change.  This “us vs. them” mindset isn’t unique to officers; it’s ingrained in TDCJ’s culture, perpetuating division and undermining meaningful reform. Instead of addressing rehabilitation, the video prioritizes recruitment and retention, focusing on the struggles of staff while ignoring the humanity of the incarcerated.  Ruiz’s story is meant to inspire new recruits, yet it sidesteps the truth of incarceration, erasing the voices and potential of those in TDCJ’s care.  When Ruiz remarks that no one is perfect, he could have tied this sentiment to TDCJ’s role in helping people move beyond their mistakes.  Instead, the video pivots back to his personal narrative, missing an opportunity to humanize the incarcerated and highlight the system’s rehabilitative mission.  This omission feels deliberate; acknowledging the humanity of those incarcerated would mean admitting systemic failures. The video’s focus on the fears of corrections staff such as retirement highlights another imbalance.  While staff concerns are valid, what about the fears of the incarcerated?  Will they see their families again?  Leave prison with hope?  Survive the system?  These voices are silenced, while staff concerns take center stage, reflecting a system designed to prioritize control over compassion.  This video underscores how TDCJ and the corrections industry excel at herding people but fail at helping them.  Images of silent incarcerated individuals walking in the background are a stark reminder of this reality.  Rehabilitation requires more than rhetoric; it demands action, change, and humanity.  Yet, TDCJ’s focus remains on power and control, not transformation.  If TDCJ claims to promote positive change, it must start by recognizing the humanity of those it incarcerates.  Until then, videos like this will remain what they are: propaganda for a broken system.

🌟It's always a pleasure to see our business associates succeed! 👉🏼Renovia is a great example of a company that takes care of their employees, clients, and projects. 😍Celebrating their success is a true joy for me. It's always a good feeling when our beliefs align with the companies we work with. #Success #Collaboration #BusinessGrowth

Planning for 2025; who doesn't love discussing business over cake 🍰 One of the things we value at Crisp is our partnerships and long-term relationships with our clients, and their trust in us. It's important as its helps us to ensure that they meet their learning and development needs and get the absolute most out of the courses. #Goals #TrainingNeeds #LearningandDevelopment #Meeting #Cake

This is 100 percent true. Recent job losses that were compromising my mental health have taught me that getting let go while inconvenient and never feels good happened FOR me, not to me. I would have kept going, enduring the toxic environment until I found a replacement job, but the universe had other plans. I am so grateful this happened FOR me. I am launching Office Koolade Podcast in November on YouTube. It is long form where we will dive deep into common problems we face in the workplace and focus on solutions that create healthier, sustainable, and a more dignified experience. I will post two podcasts per month. Do you have a compelling work experience you would like to share over Zoom with me? I am booking podcast guests now. Are you promoting a book that is on work related topic? I would love to have you as a guest and promote your book. Are you long term job seeker (more than 3 months unemployed or under employed), and would like to do a 10 minute to 20 minute short conversation that includes an elevator pitch highlighting your experience and describing your ideal position? I feature one career seeker each week as a feature of the Office Koolade Podcast YouTube Channel.

One reading through the lines would say ‘techne meets metis’. Indeed it was nostslgic. A profond moment to reflect on the de-risking agenda and creating a strong knowledge fabric weaved over decades of experiences. The vision to create and retain capital catalysed through robust insurance markets in Africa is nolonger a dream. Agency for Inclusive Innovations & Development (AIID) is pulling an inclusive ‘metis and techne’ to create input neccesary to advance the realisation of an effective and vibrant agricultural Insurance market in Africa. Aggregration or say collective action fundamemtally reduces transaction costs. African markets are fragmented hence inneficient. Aggregated Insurance markets has the power to crowd-in investments and unlock the potential of African markets. Anchoring our thoughts on this assertion, we are keen to re-orient the role and contribution of insurance in catalysing the development of sustainable #foodsystems in this great continent. Lets connect and create value towards this vision. Aggregating people too, has the same catalytic DNA.

Ever had doubts? The kind of doubts, uncertainties, worries, fears ... that have held you back? That have stopped you doing that thing you wanted to do. Maybe in business. Starting a business, levelling up a business, investing in a business. Maybe in relationships. Reaching out, carving out time for one another. Maybe in health. Starting your fitness journey. Starting to eat healthier. Maybe in life in general. Living the life You want, on your terms, with better boundaries and balance. If you don't slay these doubts, uncertainties, worries, fears ... they'll dominate your life. You'll play small, living a shadow of what you're capable of. Imagine the cost of letting that happen. Imagine the regret. Imagine the impact on you and those around you. THAT'S what we're going to tackle at the Extreme Confidence Breakthrough Experience, on 9th July. We're going to slay the dragons holding you back and Unleash your Extreme Confidence! 💥🏹 Tickets available now, including early bird tickets, saving you 25%. Click the link below, and I look forward to you joining us at Llanthony Secunda Priory, in historic Gloucester Docks on 9th July. ⬇️ https://buff.ly/3R4QSL0

Meet Bri, one of our Senior Account Managers, as she highlights her unique strengths. Discover Bri's valuable lessons learned throughout her career. Learn three fascinating facts about Bri, including her dream travel destination revealed through our random question generator!

🌟 **Navigating Challenges: Lessons from History** 🌟 As I reflect on the remarkable journey of the Bartleson-Bidwell Party, the first wagon train to traverse the California Trail across Nevada in 1841, I am reminded of the resilience and determination required to overcome obstacles—much like the challenges we face in our professional lives today. By 1869, an estimated 450,000 pioneers had embarked on this arduous journey, navigating the treacherous 40-mile desert between Lovelock and Fernley, a stretch notorious for its lack of water. This historical trek exemplifies the spirit of perseverance and innovation, qualities that I strive to embody in my professional endeavors. Just as those early pioneers left behind remnants of their journey in Fallon during the 1930s, I believe that each challenge we encounter shapes our path and contributes to our growth. It inspires me to tackle obstacles head-on, learn from every experience, and lead with resilience. Let’s embrace the spirit of the pioneers and continue forging our paths, no matter how challenging the terrain may be. Together, we can turn obstacles into opportunities! 💪✨ #Leadership #Resilience #ProfessionalGrowth #HistoryInspires #CaliforniaTrail #Innovation A wagon train following the California Trail across Nevada during the 1860's. The Bartleson-Bidwell Party were the first wagon train to take the California Trail across Nevada in 1841. By 1869 there had been an estimated 450,000 people who had taken a covered wagon along the California Trail in Nevada. The 40 mile desert between Lovelock, and Fernley was the worst part of that trail because there was no water. In Fallon during the 1930's you could still find a lot of debris from the wagon trains that had crossed that stretch of desert.

THIS APPLIES TO EVERYONE (and not just executives): it isn’t weakness or failure to admit you don’t know something. Part of being a good leader is listening to the wisdom and experience of the people around you. And make connections and continue to build them.

There is always that unique moment of joy when you get to see the result of years of work in physical form:)! I hope you will consider joining me through the journeys in my new memoir.