In this episode, Paul sits down with Stacey Putka — and the conversation begins with a line most podcast intros never get to use: they met in prison. Paul shares what it was like entering Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility: handing over his phone and passport, being reduced to a badge number, and feeling that subtle loss of control that incarcerated people live with every day. Together, they unpack the emotional impact of walking into a room full of men serving serious sentences and discovering something unexpectedly human — real presence, eye contact, openness, and a level of vulnerability that challenged every stereotype.

Stacey explains why she founded Breakthrough: because punishment alone doesn’t create healing, accountability, or safer communities. They tackle the hardest question head-on — are some people simply “bad”? — and Stacey offers a deeper framework: holding two truths at once (real harm was done, and real change is possible), while prioritizing accountability and protecting future victims through transformation.

Stacey Poka is the founder and Executive Director of Breakthrough, a U.S.-based nonprofit that delivers transformational programming inside prisons and provides practical, emotional, and community support after release. 

https://timetobreakthrough.org/about-us/

Paul Ryan is an eight-figure CEO and the host of The Inner Entrepreneur Podcast, where he explores what’s really going on beneath the surface of success — purpose, identity, values, leadership, and the inner work that shapes the outer results.

https://pauljryan.net/

https://calendly.com/inner-entrepreneur-podcast/discovery-call-with-paul-ryan