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Clay was introduced to the Enneagram Prison Project while incarcerated and he is now an active Ambassador.
Clay Tumey is an EPP Ambassador, team member, and host of the EPP Podcast. Though he felt freer on his first day in jail than he had in the years prior to incarceration, Clay learned a freedom of another kind when he found himself as a Type Five on the Enneagram. He took to this system as a way of remembering how to open his once-closed heart. |
Today, Clay is a dedicated father, author, and speaker, in addition to his many roles at EPP.
"Knowing my type and how I exist in the world, the good and not so good sides [has] helped me live, not only more successfully, but also more happily. I can forgive myself in ways that I didn’t before. I can accept certain things about myself that I couldn’t before, and be happy with certain aspects of who I am. It’s also given me freedom [to accept] others for the things they have in them that I don’t have in me.
As an Ambassador, I represent what EPP is – for one person to go into prison and come out living life a different way. I’m not a different person, I make different choices with the information I have. I want people to look at me and have hope.
I represent the idea that people can come out of prison and stay good people."
"Knowing my type and how I exist in the world, the good and not so good sides [has] helped me live, not only more successfully, but also more happily. I can forgive myself in ways that I didn’t before. I can accept certain things about myself that I couldn’t before, and be happy with certain aspects of who I am. It’s also given me freedom [to accept] others for the things they have in them that I don’t have in me.
As an Ambassador, I represent what EPP is – for one person to go into prison and come out living life a different way. I’m not a different person, I make different choices with the information I have. I want people to look at me and have hope.
I represent the idea that people can come out of prison and stay good people."
FUN FACTS ABOUT CLAY
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Favorite color?
355E3B Thing you’re most passionate about (besides EPP)? Being a good dad is definitely the top priority in my life. After parenthood and EPP, I'd have to say I'm most passionate about foosball. It's so much more than a silly table game to me. Best gift you’ve received? One year on Father's Day, my son used markers to color his arms to match the tattoos on mine. Favorite author? I don't have a favorite author, but J.C. Hallman wrote my favorite book (The Chess Artist). Superhero power? If I could have any superhero power, it would be the ability to grant others their own superhero power. |
If you had a time machine, where would you go?
I have no idea, but I would avoid Biff Tannen at all costs. What fictional character do you relate to most? Most days, Peter Gibbons. Other days, Tony Clifton. Most unusual talent? I've been using the internet since the 1990s, and I'm only on my third password. Therefore, my most unusual talent is non sequitur. Describe yourself in one word (or three)? So much emotion. Speak other languages? Only enough to embarrass myself when someone calls me on it. Why EPP? My "why" has changed over the years. In the beginning, I mostly wanted to be evidence in support of the belief that the enneagram belongs in prison. More recently, my "why" has shifted to the individual...the person who is desperate for a new way of living. |
“I genuinely do believe that inside of all of us is a good person waiting for a place to happen.”
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EPP PODCAST EPISODE FEATURING CLAY...
Episode 28 - Clay TumeyClay Tumey is an Ambassador for the Enneagram Prison Project. In this episode, EPP Founder Susan Olesek and EPP Executive Director Rick Olesek sit down with Clay for a chat about May 21, 2007—the day the good began.
Also in this episode, we pause to share a few Words of Appreciation for Susanne Gawreluk. |
