Thank you for attending this year’s Social Enterprise Leadership Forum, entitled “Solutions to Post-Incarceration Employment and Entrepreneurship: The Role of Businesses and Universities.”
This forum—a joint effort by the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School and the Center for Justice at Columbia University—was an unprecedented event that sought to address the critical issues around post-incarceration employment.
As part of a day that convened scholars, policy-makers, nonprofits, business leaders and people directly affected by incarceration, the discussion revolved around the ways businesses can bolster successful reentry and ultimately decrease the prison population.
The discussion emphasized the role of universities to convene both businesses and academic insights to address the challenges and opportunities for employing the formerly incarcerated. Jeremy Travis, president of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, opened the event with his keynote Reversing the Realities of Mass Incarceration: The Role of American Business. Professor Devah Pager of Harvard University shared her research that formerly incarcerated people performed well at their jobs within the military. This research highlighted a potential opportunity that businesses may miss in the hiring process. Bill Keller of the Marshall Project convened a business panel that included representatives from the Partnership for New York City, Autodesk, Pigeon.ly and Skillsmart. Glenn Martin shared his personal and professional journey with JustLeadership.
Geraldine Downey, Director of the Center for Justice, closed the event with a panel that included Ronald Day from the Fortune Society that discussed ways in which the nonprofit sector and government support post-incarceration employment, such as through developing legal protections against employment discrimination.
Due to the overwhelming interest in this forum, we plan additional follow-on initiatives including a multi-media experience (podcasts and videos) that will be available soon for broader distribution that will add to the presentation materials found on our website. We welcome your feedback and any additional suggestions for programming around this topic.
Thank you for your attendance and contribution to 2016 Social Enterprise Leadership Conference.
Regards,
Geraldine Downey
Professor of Psychology
Director of the Center for Justice
Columbia University
Damon J. Phillips
Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise and
Co-Director of The Tamer Center for Social Enterprise
Columbia Business School
Click Here to See More Photos
