The walls of the Nevada State Prison have witnessed more than 150 years of history with stories of law, punishment, humanity, and redemption that shaped the Silver State. This summer, those stories come to life.

Nevada State Prison Chronicles is a free speaker series presented by the Nevada State Prison Preservation Society, bringing together historians, medical professionals, justice-involved voices, and corrections insiders to share the stories that defined life behind these walls.

Join us on Thursday evenings this summer for candid, compelling conversations you won't hear anywhere else. Each session takes place at 6:00 PM and admission is free with a suggested donation of $10 helping support the preservation of Nevada's most historic institution.

What: Nevada State Prison Chronicles - Free Summer Speaker Series

When: Thursdays at 6:00 PM | July 16, 23, 30, & August 6, 2026 | Doors open at 5:30 PM 

Where: Nevada State Prison – 3301 Warm Springs Ct, Carson City, NV 89701

Admission: Free | Suggested donation: $10 | Space is extremely limited. RSVP to save your spot.

Additional Info: nevadastateprison.org/chronicles

July 16 - Dr. Karen Gedney, MD

Healing Behind Bars: Medicine, Humanity, and Thirty Years in Nevada Corrections

Dr. Karen Gedney didn't plan on a life in prison. A Health Corps scholarship brought her to the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in 1987 to fulfill four years of service in an underserved setting - and she stayed for thirty. She became Nevada's first female prison doctor, working in a hyper-male environment without a roadmap, and going on to serve as Senior Physician at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.

In those three decades, Dr. Gedney managed HIV at the dawn of the epidemic, confronted mental illness and addiction with limited resources, navigated racial tensions, witnessed executions, survived a harrowing hostage situation, and fought daily for the dignity of patients whose lives many had written off. Named one of the best in the business by the American Correctional Association, she also received a Heroes for Humanity Award from the U.S. Senate for her work in HIV care in the correctional system.

Since retirement, Dr. Gedney has become an outspoken advocate for holistic prison reform and a mentor to children with incarcerated parents. She is the author of the memoir 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor, which chronicles her remarkable career with honesty, compassion, and unflinching clarity.

In her Chronicles talk, Dr. Gedney opens our Nevada State Prison Chronicles series on July 16 with a talk that is equal parts history, medicine, and hard-won wisdom.