Enneagram Prison Project Marks Cycle at San Quentin
Residents, board members and donors gathered at San Quentin's Chapel B for a community day celebrating the program's latest cycle.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Civic
The Enneagram Prison Project held a community day at San Quentin's Chapel B to celebrate another program cycle, bringing together residents, board members and donors. Russ Hudson presented on Enneagram personality types and answered residents' questions.
Why it matters
The event highlights a personal-development program operating inside a California state prison, offering residents a structured framework for self-reflection. It also shows how community groups, board members and donors connect with incarcerated participants.
Russ Hudson has co-taught the Enneagram Professional Training Program since 1991 and co-authored Personality Types, The Power of the Enneagram and Personality Types at Work. The article does not report attendance figures or measured outcomes for participants.
The players
Enneagram Prison Project
A program that brings Enneagram personality-type instruction into San Quentin State Prison, bringing residents, board members and donors together.
Russ Hudson
Executive director of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc., co-founder of The Enneagram Institute, and co-author of several books on the Enneagram system.
Susan Olesek
Founder of the Enneagram Prison Project, who opened the community day event.
The details
Susan Olesek, founder of the Enneagram Prison Project, opened the event before Hudson presented. Hudson, executive director of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc. and co-founder of The Enneagram Institute, then answered questions from residents. The meeting closed with participants forming a circle and each saying one word about their journey.
Timeline
November 11, 2026: Community day celebrating the program cycle held at San Quentin's Chapel B.
Civic Context
The community day extends the Enneagram Institute's training tradition, which Hudson has helped build since 1991, into a California correctional facility. It places a personal-development framework alongside other volunteer-run programs that bring outside groups into San Quentin.
The program offers residents at San Quentin a structured self-reflection tool and brings volunteers and donors into the facility. Readers interested in similar programs can look for volunteer or donation opportunities with prison education groups in California.
The takeaway
Programs like the Enneagram Prison Project show how volunteer-led personal-development work can reach incarcerated residents. Community members who want to support similar efforts can contact local prison education groups.
Further reading
Explore more civic coverage from California for context on community programs across the state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Sanquentinnews.
