The YPM Connector

April 29, 2026

Dear Subscriber First Name,

R. Seth Williams: Keynote Speaker at 2026 YPM Annual Conference

Seth Williams will be our keynote speaker at the upcoming 2026 YPM Annual Conference on September 23-24. 

Seth was given up at birth and placed in an orphanage and then foster care. He was adopted later by a loving couple, Rufus and Imelda Williams. In 2009 he was sworn in as the district attorney in Philadelphia, the first African-American to be the head district attorney in any jurisdiction in Pennsylvania. He is a former U.S. Army officer, criminal defense attorney, civil attorney, college and law school professor, civic association and town watch leader, church lay leader, and inspector general of Philadelphia. 

In March 2017, he was indicted in federal court. The majority of the charges were associated with gifts from friends and family that he had failed to report while holding elective office.

During the second week of his jury trial, Mr. Williams was offered and accepted a guilty plea to one count of a violation of the Federal Travel Act. He was sentenced to five years of incarceration. He served the first five months in solitary confinement. 

While in prison, Seth Williams taught GED, workforce development, Bible study, classical poetry, beginner saxophone, and spin class. Nineteen of his students successfully earned their GED. 

Seth Williams is currently the president and CEO of Second Chance Strategies, LLC, which aims to more effectively prevent crime, reduce recidivism and rebuild lives. At Second Chance Strategies, Mr. Williams develops and manages vocational training and workforce development programs for returning citizens and the chronically unemployed. He has also developed two courses, Career Keepers and Prison Poets, that are taught inside the Philadelphia Department of Prisons to prepare individuals for release.

2026 YPM Annual Conference: Changes in Location and Days of the Week

We will meet on Wednesday, September 23, and Thursday, September 24, at the Welcoming Place of the Mennonite Central Committee in Akron, Pennsylvania, north of Lancaster. This convenient and affordable location will serve for both our meetings and overnight housing for attendees who chose to spend the night.

There are six buildings in the complex — the dining hall, our meeting space called the Meeting Place and four overnight lodges with eleven rooms in each. Most rooms have two twin beds; other rooms have a queen bed. Each room has its own bathroom and shower.

Click on this link for more information: The Welcoming Place

Look for conference registration

materials and information soon. 

How to Support Our Upcoming Conference 

• Pray about inviting people to attend who may be interested in serving as Yokefellows. 

• Pray about inviting returned citizens to attend the conference.

   

• Consider providing scholarship support for returned citizens. Click here to make an online donation and select “Scholarships for Returning Citizens.” Or send your check made payable to YPM PA to the address below and indicate “Scholarship for Returning Citizens.”

• Support the Annual Conference with a donation to help cover expenses. Click here to make an online donation and select “Annual Conference.” Or send your check made payable to YPM PA to the address below and indicate “Annual Conference.”

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Thank you for your continued support! 

Sean Atkinson, Executive Director 

Dave Lewis, Chair of the Board