William Sansing
| William Sansing | |
| Nationality | American |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Licensed professional counselor, author, reentry advocate |
| Known for | Author of the memoir Beyond Prison; founder of Resilient Life Counseling Services; substance-use-recovery and criminal-justice reform advocacy in Mississippi |
| Education | Ph.D., Mississippi State University |
| Alma mater | Mississippi State University |
William Kenneth Sansing is an American licensed professional counselor, educator, and criminal-justice reform advocate based in Mississippi. He is the author of the memoir Beyond Prison: Finding Second Chances Through Grace, Resilience, and Community and the founder of Resilient Life Counseling Services, a practice through which he works as an addiction, emotional-health, and relationship therapist and supervisor.[1][2] Sansing has spent nearly three decades in advocacy for people affected by the legal system, people with disabilities, and people with substance use disorders, following his own journey through the criminal justice system.[1][3]
Education
Sansing holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Mississippi State University in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services and Sociology, a dual course of study he pursued after being encouraged to attend graduate school.[4][5]
Counseling and academic career
Sansing spent much of his career in higher education in Mississippi. He served as an Associate Dean of Instruction and District Director of Student Counseling and Advising Services at East Mississippi Community College, based at the college's Golden Triangle campus, where his work focused on increasing access to and student success in higher education.[4][5] He later retired from higher education and turned his attention to full-time clinical and advocacy work.[1][2]
As a licensed professional counselor and supervisor (LPC-S), Sansing owns and operates Resilient Life Counseling Services, LLC, where he works as an addiction, emotional-health, and relationship therapist.[1][2] He has also worked part-time as a mental-health and alcohol-and-drug therapist, including affiliations with Christian Changes Counseling and Recovery Center, Starkville Wellness Group, and The Oxford Treatment Center.[4][1] In addition to his clinical practice, Sansing has served as a specialty faculty member in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Grand Canyon University.[1][2]
Advocacy
Sansing describes his advocacy as spanning nearly three decades of work on behalf of people directly impacted by the legal system, people with disabilities, and people with substance use disorders.[1][3] He is a 2019 graduate of JustLeadershipUSA's Leading with Conviction program and has remained active with the organization; he is also involved with the Mississippi Prison Reform Coalition and the Higher Education in Prison movement.[1][4]
Sansing has served as Board President of Southern Recovery Advocacy (SRA), where he championed a "four-pillar" approach to recovery from substance use disorder and reentry from incarceration. The four pillars, as he has described them, are appropriate treatment and intensive services; community support and housing; education and workforce training; and job placement.[4][5] He frames the model as a harm-reduction framework, arguing that recovery "isn't a linear process" and that people with substance use disorders "have a disease and they need our help."[5]
His advocacy has also included work with a crime-and-addiction task force organized through the CREATE Foundation's Golden Triangle initiative and participation in a speakers bureau addressing prevention, treatment, and alternatives to incarceration.[5] He helped organize a conference titled "Making and Unmaking Mass Incarceration" at the University of Mississippi.[5] Sansing has additionally worked with the Mississippi Bail Fund Collective and the People's Advocacy Institute in connection with a Bail Project effort in the state's 16th Judicial District.[1]
Writing
Sansing is the author of the memoir Beyond Prison: Finding Second Chances Through Grace, Resilience, and Community, published under the name William Kenneth Sansing.[1][2] The book reflects on the role of community in healing and on second chances after adversity. Sansing has said his experience as an educator, researcher, and therapist gives him a distinct perspective from which to address prison reform, trauma, and the need for judgment- and shame-free communities.[2][1]
White Collar Conference
In 2024, Sansing served as the moderator of the panel "Healing Through a Supportive Community" at the White Collar Conference, an event presented by the White Collar Support Group.[3][2]
Personal life
Sansing has described his interests as spending time with his grandchildren and family, reading, cycling, playing pickleball, woodworking, traveling, and following college sports.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "William Sansing". 'prosecution.org}'. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Grant, Jeff. "Bill Livolsi & William Sansing to Speak at White Collar Conference 2024". 'White Collar Support Group (Medium)}'. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "William Sansing — White Collar Conference". 'White Collar Conference}'. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "William Sansing". 'JustLeadershipUSA}'. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Sansing, William. "I advocate a four pillar approach to recovery from substance use disorder and reentry from incarceration". 'JustLeadershipUSA}'. November 1, 2019. Retrieved 2026-07-23.