The Complete Tier 2 Training and Emotional Leadership Manual
by Aaron B Kershaw
You weren’t given power - you earned presence.
Built from the Inside™: The Peer Director Masterbook is not just a training guide - it’s a transformation system designed for incarcerated leaders who’ve moved from mentee to mentor to cultural steward. Inside correctional walls, emotional leadership isn’t optional, it’s urgent.
This comprehensive manual brings together three groundbreaking handbooks into one integrated toolkit. It equips Peer Directors to:
Lead weekly trauma-informed groups with presence
Train and certify mentors with emotional precision
Intervene with red flag safety protocols
Build rituals, language, and culture that last beyond incarceration
Whether you're holding space for stories, de-escalating tension, or preparing others to lead, this book walks with you step by step. With over 200 pages of tools, scripts, rubrics, and deep reflection, it’s your guide to turning emotional labor into legacy leadership.
You are the culture. You are the reset.
And now—you are the one they’ll look to.
Lead from the inside. Live what you’ve led.
I’m a Marine veteran, author, and the founder of BrightPath Academy and BuildingBlocs Literacy. I create tools for real-life transformation—books, courses, and curriculum for people rebuilding from the inside out. If you're ready to grow, heal, and lead yourself forward, I’ve got your back.
Aaron B. Kershaw is the founder of BrightPath Academy and BuildingBlocs Literacy, two education platforms built to deliver practical transformation through social-emotional learning, financial literacy, leadership, and reentry training. His programs are used in correctional facilities, schools, churches, and community centers across the country. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and lifelong mentor, Aaron writes for people who weren’t handed a perfect start—and are ready to build something better anyway. From the Built from the Inside SEL series to financial education workbooks and youth development guides, his voice stays honest, grounded, and rooted in lived experience. Aaron’s mission is clear: To help people take back the pen and write their next chapter—stronger, smarter, and more self-led than the last. Through his books, courses, and nonprofit initiatives, Aaron empowers individuals and institutions to do more than survive their circumstances—he helps them build from them.
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