JFF Announces Fair Chance to Advance Advisory Board
November 4, 2024
At a glance
Fair Chance to Advance removes systemic barriers by aligning states’ education, workforce, and employment systems, creating pathways to quality jobs for people with records of arrest, conviction, or incarceration.
Jobs for the Future (JFF) is proud to announce the formation of the advisory board for its Fair Chance to Advance initiative, a comprehensive effort to dismantle systemic barriers and create pathways to quality jobs for people with records of arrest, conviction, or incarceration. Led by experts from JFF’s Center for Justice & Economic Advancement, the initiative brings together corrections leaders, policymakers, postsecondary education providers, employers, and workforce development agencies to drive coordinated action across state systems that fosters economic advancement opportunities for people with records.
JFF believes the Fair Chance to Advance initiative can have a positive impact on the U.S. economy. More than one-third of adults in this country have a record, and 27% of these individuals are unemployed. On average, people with records achieve only about 48% of their annual earning potential, and their lost wages have a negative impact of $55.2 billion on the U.S. economy annually. Fair Chance to Advance members will address these challenges by working to remove systemic barriers and improve access to postsecondary education, training, and employment opportunities for people with records. The goal is to ensure that these individuals have opportunities to secure well-paid quality jobs and contribute to their regional economies.
The newly established advisory board comprises esteemed experts from a range of sectors who will provide strategic guidance to ensure the initiative’s success. The advisory board members are:
- Michael Dembrow, Senator, Oregon State Legislature
- Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Independent Consultant
- Robert McGough, Chief Data Officer, Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services
- Ved Price, Executive Director, Alliance for Higher Education in Prison
- Rebecca Silbert, Deputy Superintendent of Higher Education, Office of Correctional Education, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
- John Simpkins, President and CEO, MDC
- Jonathan Stenger, Chief Strategy Officer, YouthBuild Global
- Sarah Vincent, Labor & Employment Associate Attorney, Husch Blackwell
- Lisa S. Vosper, Associate Commissioner for Workforce Education & Training, Louisiana Board of Regents
- Jason Wang, Founder and CEO, FreeWorld
- Tony Waterson, President and CEO, Southern Indiana Works
- Dean Williams, Consultant, New Sky Justice Consulting
Rebecca Villarreal, senior director with JFF’s Center for Justice & Economic Advancement, emphasized the importance of the advisory board’s expertise. “We have already benefited greatly from the board’s insight and wisdom as we design an initiative that engages diverse stakeholders and is driving systemic change,” she said.
For each board member, those insights are drawn from professional and personal interactions with the carceral system that undergird their commitment to systems change.
Here are some examples of their perspectives and insights:
“When I worked in the courts, I saw that one of the recurring factors that led to someone being in the courtroom was the lack of consistent, stable, good employment. And so, I thought, maybe that’s an area where I can work and influence change.”
— Sarah Vincent,
Labor & Employment Associate Attorney, Husch Blackwell
“I was arrested at the age of 15 for a first-degree felony, aggravated robbery, and sentenced to a maximum-security juvenile prison for 12 years. After release, I earned a full scholarship and two master’s degrees, yet employers still wouldn’t hire me due to my criminal record.”
— Jason Wang,
Founder and CEO, FreeWorld
“I’ve been working on college in prison for a long time, and I believe deeply in making high-quality college available for all incarcerated people. But I also believe that if we’re not thinking about what comes after the college degree, we’re doing only half the job. The work of this advisory board begins to fill that gap.”
— Rebecca Silbert,
Deputy Superintendent of Higher Education, Office of Correctional Education, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The JFF team and the advisory board will support states in their efforts to remove barriers to employment, increase access to postsecondary education and training, and expand fair chance hiring practices. They will cultivate a national network focused on equipping states for systemic change and providing technical and financial assistance to state-based networks ready to accelerate the momentum of initiatives that create clear pathways to economic advancement for people with records.
This work is already underway. Last month, JFF hosted a meeting of nearly 50 leaders from 17 states with a demonstrated commitment to systems change. Attendees included people with records who are leaders of efforts to transform systems and representatives of state departments of corrections, postsecondary education, labor, and workforce development. The participants identified urgent needs and discussed insights from stakeholders involved in collaborative cross-state efforts to support learners with records, and they leveraged their collective expertise to support JFF’s design and technical assistance planning for Fair Chance to Advance.