Mark Krancer is an award-winning photographer, author, and entrepreneur whose journey reflects both resilience and creativity. After overcoming the challenges of reentering society following a conviction, he rebuilt his life from the ground up, founding Kram Kran Photo in 2016 as the cornerstone of his artistic career.
Today, Mark serves as the official photographer for numerous nonprofits, including the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), while also teaching photography and openly sharing his story of recovery, freedom, and sobriety. His work has earned national recognition, with a Pulitzer Prize nomination, multiple Scenic America contest wins, and two Florida Preservation Awards for outstanding Media and Communication.
Each month, The Carrier Pigeon Post publishes and distributes, free of charge,
a 4-color, 8-page, hope-filled, newsprint paper. We do so because we believe in the possibilities afforded by narrative-inspired imagination.
The Carrier Pigeon Post encourages cultural competency and teaches cultural literacy. The paper features short, 300-500 word stories, written at a 6th-grade level, specifically crafted and curated for those who have been incarcerated. The articles feature narratives, paintings, sculpture, photography, landmarks, political figures, celebrities, literature, historical events and documents, monuments, multicultural folktales, finance, and science.
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It all started with some simple correspondence with a few incarcerated individuals. Then some books were sent to those incarcerated, books filled with stories that proved liberative to those confined to a cell.
Over the course of a decade, one at a time, books were slowly but surely sent to various incarcerated persons in institutions all over the state of Florida. Word, slowly but surely, made its way back about the value and importance of these books, about how what was found inside the books,the stories they told, inspired and nurtured hope. The desire was for more—to have repeated and widespread reach, to impact more people, more often, and to inspire and to accommodate long-term intellectual growth. And so, The Carrier Pigeon Post was born.
Staff and Board of Directors for The Carrier Pigeon Post
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Dr. Sonya Shetty Cronin brings 20 years of experience as a university professor, including study abroad international programs, and is a published academic author. She has sent books into prisons for over a decade and is the co-founder of a reentry home where she worked directly with those who have experienced incarceration. She has seen the power of story give meaning and direction to the lives of both aimless and anxious college students and formerly incarcerated.
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Hannah Katanic brings over seven years of experience in UX/UI design, product development, and digital communication. She has developed websites, publications, and visual systems for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. As Associate Director of The Carrier Pigeon Post, she oversees concept to print publication layout, digital production, and web design. Katanic combines technical precision with user-centered design to create accessible communication tools across digital and print platforms.
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Dr. Carey C. Newman brings 35 years of experience as a university professor, scholar, and author. Newman has spent 30 years as an academic book publisher and editor, overseeing 800+ academic books into print. As a book editor, Newman taught authors the craft of storytelling. Newman has decades of experience across the social sciences, humanities, and professional disciplines.
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Joseph Gans is the owner of Au Peche Mignon, a French pastry shop in North Florida. As a small business owner for 23 years, Joseph has had the pleasure of employing and working alongside those who were formerly incarcerated. He brings to Carrier Pigeon this experience, as well as his resourcefulness, attention to niche and artifact, and his entrepreneurial business expertise.
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Dr. Micah McCreary is the President and John Henry Livingston Professor of Theology at New Brunswick Theological Seminar in New Brunswick, New Jersey, as well as a licensed clinical therapist. He is experienced in support structures for those incarcerated and those reentering society. Dr. McCreary is well versed in the multifaceted aspects of incarceration’s effects on families and minority communities.
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Chloe Scott is an undergrad at the University of Central Florida. At UCF, she volunteers with the Florida Prison Education Project to inform students about the merits of educational programs for those incarcerated. In addition, she is a board member of UCF's Students For Education in Prison, which aims to teach students about the reality of our justice system. She is a tutor for the Adult Literacy League, helping older students improve their reading, speech, and writing skills.
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