Georgetown Pivot Program Celebrates Eighth Cohort at 2026 Graduation

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Pivot Program graduates, faculty, staff, and graduation speakers pose for a photo.

The Georgetown Pivot Program recently celebrated the graduation of its eighth cohort at the McDonough School of Business.

Eleven fellows received their certificates at the ceremony, joining more than 100 graduates who have completed the program since its founding in 2018.

Talib Shakir, director of the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs and a graduate of Pivot’s second cohort, delivered the keynote address. Drawing on his own experience, Shakir spoke directly to the graduates about what it means to rewrite a narrative that others have tried to write for you.

“Your past is a chapter,” he told the room. “It is not the whole book.”

Two members of the cohort were selected by their peers to speak at the ceremony. Earnest Hanible, who took first place in this year’s Pitch Competition, reflected on what the program had given him and what it had confirmed.

Earnest Hanible speaks at the graduation.

“I didn’t come into this program empty,” Hanible said. “I came in with a purpose. What this experience did was something deeper than give me direction. It confirmed what was already in me. It solidified my calling. It sharpened my mission.”

He closed with a challenge to his classmates. “Trust the process. Protect your values. Build your disciplines. And know that this moment is the proof, not of what we received, but of what we put in.”

Celeste Santifer, who placed second in the Pitch Competition, credited the Pivot leadership team for seeing the fellows not as their records, but as the people they were becoming.

“They didn’t see our past mistakes,” she said. “They saw entrepreneurs, leaders, and advocates, and their belief in us strengthened our own.”

Celeste Santifer speaks at the graduation.

Santifer ended with a message for her cohort. “We walked in alone. We are leaving together. When the next cohort needs us, we show up the way alumni showed up for us.”

The ceremony also included the presentation of the Ryan D. Matthews Legacy Award, given annually to the fellow who best embodies the spirit of Ryan Matthews, a beloved seventh cohort member who passed away just weeks before his own graduation. This year’s recipient was DeAnthony Campbell. The award was presented by Matthews’ mother, Sheryl Daniel.

DeAnthony Campbell receives the Ryan D. Matthews Legacy Award.

The 2026 Partner of the Year Award was presented to Coach Lewis King and Umbrella Therapeutic Services, recognized for their work supporting fellows through counseling, mentorship, and individual advocacy throughout the program year.

This year’s graduation also celebrated two milestone achievements beyond the ceremony itself. Pivot Fellow Tevin Richardson completed his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from SUNY Potsdam while simultaneously participating in the Pivot Program, a remarkable accomplishment made even more meaningful by the fact that he earned most of those credits while he was incarcerated. Tyronda Ferrell, a graduate of Pivot’s fifth cohort and current program coordinator, completed her Bachelor of Arts in Information Technology and Data Analytics at Strayer University, earning her degree at night while continuing to serve the program that helped shape her own journey.

Congratulations to the 11 graduates of the Georgetown Pivot Program, including Cohort 8: George Brown, Bryan Burwell, DeAnthony Campbell, Diego Cunningham, Loniece Hamilton, Earnest Hanible, Melvin McLean, Justin Moore, Leon Richardson, Tevin Richardson, and Celeste Santifer.