Piper Kerman

Piper Kerman's speaking career was born out of her experience as a convicted felon.

Kerman was arrested at the age of 34 for a drug charge she earned when 23. After completing her time in the penitentiary, Kerman would go on to write 'Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison,' a memoir of her time spent incarcerated. The incredibly honest and revealing memoir would later be picked up by the streaming service Netflix and turned into a television show. Piper Kerman's speaking career has been on the rise since the release of the now popular show, where she gives talks to students of law, criminology and writing, as well as to groups like the American Correctional Association’s Disproportionate Minority Confinement Task Force.

A huge proponent of prison reform, specifically with how the prison system deals with non-violent offenders, Piper Kerman hopes her story will move others to push for change.