Georgetown Pivot Program Hosts Fourth Annual Second Chance Forum

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The Georgetown Pivot Program hosted the fourth annual Second Chance Forum on April 9 at the McDonough School of Business.

The forum convened second chance advocates from across the country. The day included a series of panels covering corporate hiring strategy, public policy, academic research and the future of reentry work, with speakers from organizations including JPMorganChase, the Business Roundtable, RAND Corp. and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Pivot Executive Director Alyssa Lovegrove joined the panel “Reentry Reimagined: Unlocking Opportunities for Talent With Records,” alongside three Pivot Program alumni: Luis Villafane, program coordinator at Georgetown University; Tony McCright, program manager for justice initiatives at the National League of Cities; and Tariq Gaston, associate at LINK Strategic Partners. The conversation was moderated by Michael Akin, president of LINK Strategic Partners. The panel brought together reentry leaders and program graduates to talk about what it takes to build a career, and why talent with records remains one of the most overlooked sources of workforce potential in the country.

“Reentry Reimagined: Unlocking Opportunities for Talent With Records,” panel discussion.

Marc Howard, director of Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, also took part in two sessions. He moderated a fireside chat with Joshua Smith, deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, on the challenges of leading institutional change from inside the federal corrections system. He later joined D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Talib Shakir, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Returning Citizens Affairs and a graduate of the Pivot Program’s second cohort, for a conversation on D.C.’s model for advancing second chances.

Other sessions throughout the day explored the research behind second chance hiring, the role of skilled trades in reentry, narrative change and how state attorneys general are advancing public safety through second chance policy.

The Pivot Program is a proud member of the Second Chance Business Coalition and looks forward to engaging in these important conversations centered around second chances next year.