447: Hire the Formerly Incarcerated, with Shelley Winner

Shelley Winner: Restorative Justice

Shelley Winner is a Restorative Justice Activist whose goal is to change the world, reduce crime, and advocate for justice involved people all while helping companies improve productivity and revenues.

She is also a technology specialist, is very active in the restorative justice movement in San Francisco and wants to educate the public about the benefits of hiring the formerly incarcerated. Through her work with Winner’s Circle, she is closing the gap between soon to be released inmates and technology companies by developing and delivering training to inmates and helping technology companies create internships for justice involved individuals.

In this conversation, Shelley shares her story of moving from incarceration to successful employment in the technology industry. We highlight how some organizations are leading in this work and what the research shows about companies that are helping to unlock the formerly incarcerated workforce.

Key Points

• “There isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story.” -Fred Rogers
• 95% of people incarcerated will be released back to communities. The formerly incarcerated are five times more likely to be unemployed than the general population.
• “Within organizations that have hired those with a criminal record, 82% of managers rate the value workers with a criminal record bring to the organization as similar to or greater than that of those without a record.” -Society for Human Resource Management
• Be an advocate. Research what other organizations are doing on this. Begin by reading the SHRM report.

Resources Mentioned

• Hiring the Formerly Incarcerated is Best for Your Team (Shelley’s TED talk)
• Winner’s Circle (Shelley’s organization)
• Getting Talent Back to Work by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• Out of Prison & Out of Work: Unemployment Among Formerly Incarcerated People by Prison Policy Initiative
• Embracing Formerly Incarcerated Workers: Things HR Should Consider by CareerMinds
• Facts & Trends by The National Reentry Resource Center
• Big Tech’s Newest Experiment in Criminal-Justice Reform in The Atlantic
• The Last Mile
• JPMorgan Chase Joins Second Chance Efforts to Reduce Obstacles to Employment

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