Location: Allegheny County Jail, Downtown Pittsburgh

Featured guests: Public Information Officer Jesse Geleynse, Female Pod Coordinator Kelsey Gordon, Warden Trevor Wingard, Re-Entry Instructors Richard “Munch” Brown and Kendra Russell, Academic Institute Principal Tony Esoldo, Lead Discharge Coordinator Heather Kisow, dog handlers Sammi, Karri and Katie

3 things that surprised me:

1. I’ve passed Allegheny County Jail hundreds of times, but this was my first time inside the building. It’s huge! There are eight floors, and each has its own mezzanine, so the building is actually 16 floors in addition to the ground level. There’s room inside for 3,000 incarcerated individuals, but there were about 1,700 on the day we visited.

2. The jail partnered with Animal Friends in 2025 to launch the TAILS program. Through the program, adoptable dogs are paired with incarcerated people at the jail who help socialize and train the pups. When we visited, Frank (a dalmatian) and Xavier (a husky mix) played with residents in the gym area that’s attached to one of the women’s pods. The dogs sleep in a cell alongside their designated trainer.

3. We also visited the Academic Institute, which is essentially a small high school that’s inside the jail so that high school-aged residents can continue their studies. Principal Esoldo explained that it operates just like any other high school. He toured us though the science, math and social studies classrooms. He says he never has to remind kids to do their homework here — that they’re all very enthusiastic students and voracious readers.

One thing that didn’t make the final cut: Warden Winger told me that there are about 665 county staff at the jail plus another 250 contract workers, so there are about 1,000 people working there in total.

Additional info: You can read the Allegheny County Jail blog here. You can look into adopting a pet from Animal Friends here.

Want more Yinzer Backstage Pass? Check out our visit to Pigeon Bagels where they’re never done with the bagel-making process.

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