Podcast Episodes
DIVINE on Financial Empowerment
Jeff is joined by Victor Lombard (aka DIVINE), CEO and founder of Solvent, on his troubled upbringing in Newport, RI leading to his incarceration, to starting a business that facilitates financial education and freedom for those affected by the justice system, his thoughts on running a business for profit AND for purpose, and much more.
Ron Nikkel on Compassionate Criminal Justice
Jeff is joined by Ron Nikkel, President Emeritus of Prison Fellowship International and author of Hope in the Ruins, on his transition from running a successful business to working with troubled kids, how visiting a prison in Chile changed his life forever, on changing the perspective of business leaders by taking them inside prisons, and much more.
Jeff Korzenik on Untapped Talent
Jeff is joined by Jeff Korzenik, Chief Investment Strategist of Fifth Third Bank and author of Untapped Talent: How Second Chance Hiring Works for Your Business and the Community, on his path through financial services to bank-based wealth management, how the current labor shortage could be eased by hiring the formerly incarcerated, teaching businesses the process of post-prison hiring, and much more.
Chris Bentley on Better Impact Solutions
Jeff is joined by Chris Bentley, Managing Principal of De-Carceration Fund, on his transition from startups to his work in Impact themes like energy, environment, education, and healthcare – leading to his current focus on a fund that centers on the inclusion and success of people affected by the criminal justice system, how Impact holds the unique quality of being able to scale up rapid change, and much more.
Pete Leonard on Providing Second Chances
Jeff is joined by Pete Leonard, founder and Roast Master of I Have a Bean, on how moving a lot as a child taught him the value of diversity, how a missions trip to Brazil and his brother-in-law’s prison sentence collided to help form his unique take on a coffee company that primarily employs post-prison people, his dream to become the largest employer of post-prison people on the planet, and much more.
Pete Ochs on Pursuing Significance
Jeff is joined by Pete Ochs, Founder and Chairman of Capital III, on growing up in Kansas and starting his own investment banking business at the age of 30, his transition from pursuing success to pursuing significance and surrender, his heart for employing prisoners and formerly incarcerated, transitioning from doing to teaching later on in life, and much more.
Spencer Oberg on Making the Most of a 2nd Chance
Jeff is joined by Spencer Oberg, co-founder of Unincarcerated Productions, to chat about how fixing bikes and smoking weed while growing up in Washington state eventually led from a short prison stint to facing a 10-year sentence for prescription drug forgery, investing in a booming plant-based cheese company called GOOD PLANeT FOODS, forming Unincarcerated Productions to help shift the general public’s perception of formerly incarcerated individuals, and much more.
Coss Marte on Impact After Prison
Jeff is joined by Coss Marte, Founder and CEO of CONBODY – to talk about his younger years selling drugs on the streets of New York which led to a series of prison sentences, being told by a prison-doctor at age 24 that he was so overweight he was already a heart attack risk, using that moment to transform his body and get in shape while behind bars, and then dedicate his life to transforming other people’s body (and minds) for the better.
Korey Pollard on Using Hollywood for Impact
Jeff is joined by Korey Pollard, a 30 year veteran of film and TV production, to chat about his early start as a 16-year old actor in Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me, to his big move to Hollywood where he worked his way up from furniture mover to First Assistant Director on many well known TV shows – he’s currently working on the long-running hit TV show Chicago Fire. Korey is passionate about how sobriety changed his career trajectory and led him to starting a production company, Unincarcerated Productions, with formerly incarcerated partners.
Ping Lieu on Life After Prison
Jeff is joined by his friend Ping Lieu, whom he met doing prison ministry years ago. The two discuss Ping’s unexpected journey in life, his perspective while serving time inside prison, his personal and professional success since being released, his hopes for the future in the way we approach released inmates in society, and more.
