Defy of Northern California

Entrepreneurship training, employment readiness and personal development for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals.

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

✨Midweek Inspiration✨ 
Huge thanks to @checkr! This month 37 Checkrs journeyed to CTF, Soledad to conduct mock interviews & prepare EITs for success on the outside. You proved to the EITs that there is a #community out here that is ready to support, celebrate, & #hire them

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Happy #OneYearAnniversary to us! Today & every day, we are honoring & celebrating the most essential, extraordinary members of the Defy #community: the Entrepreneurs-in-Training & Defy Graduates. Thank you for constantly inspiring us all to become the best versions of ourselves!

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

May 2019 is Defy NorCal’s One-Year #Anniversary! 🎉 As we wish ourselves a happy birthday, we also want to give thanks to the stellar orgs & individuals who have made our 1st year a success. Shout out to Aaron (a Defy Grad!) at @ArkBMLLC for a year of web-design & Flash Reports!

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

✨Midweek Inspiration✨
CONGRATS👏 to the 33 Entrepreneurs-in-Training at Pleasant Valley State Prison who became Defy Graduates last week!! For many, this was their first #graduation ever. Huge thanks to all the amazing volunteers, family, & friends who help EITs #defytheodds 💛

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

✨Defy Grad Spotlight: Kevin Bruce✨
CONGRATS🎉 to Kevin for winning a $14,500 grant from the @Cal_CEF, which he’ll use to investigate environmental damage caused by CA prisons & find cleaner solutions! P.S. He wrote the entire grant application on his phone #defytheodds

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

✨Tune in this Wednesday, 3/27, 11am-12pm PST to learn how YOUR company can adopt highly inclusive employment strategies, & understand barriers faced by formerly incarcerated people reentering the job market✨
Registration link below!

[Price Center @ USC @USCPriceCSI]

Join @Leaders_Up, @checkr, and @DefyNorCal on March 27, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT for their webinar "Highly Inclusive Employment Strategies: A Look at Fair Chance Best Practices." Register at https://t.co/jJl7JEoZbV

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

At our Business Coaching Day at Valley State Prison, the joy in the room was palpable. “Today,” a volunteer told us, “I learned the power of hope & desire for transformation.” Thank you to each EIT & volunteer who shared their stories, skills, & support! Together we #defytheodds

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

✨Highlight✨
At this week's Career Coaching Night, we were thrilled to welcome home William, a graduate of Defy's 1st cohort in a CA State Prison. It's an honor to have him with us! (Pictured, dressed snazzily in a suit & discussing his career aspirations with a volunteer coach)

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Thank you to the incredible EITs & volunteers who made our first Career Coaching Night a success! And a huge shoutout to @LChaimSushi, along with dedicated volunteer Craig Lieckfelt at @merakimarketsf, for providing a delicious dinner to the Defy family!

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Thank you @sukhindersingh and @StubHub for welcoming us so warmly and inspiring the EITs to aim big and go after their dreams. We are grateful!

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Thank you @JayRooke for leading an awesome workshop for EITs this week and helping us all understand our entrepreneurial DNA!

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

We're going to close out this week with one more shout out: THANK YOU @lyft for opening your hearts and minds to EITs at CTF this week! Come back soon!

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

We are grateful to @SmartRecruiters and @70MillionJobs for hosting a rockin' job seeking workshop for Entrepreneurs-in-Training this week, and to all the volunteers who showed up to support! Employment is a critical first step to successful reentry, even for entrepreneurs!

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

A Business Coaching Day with @DefyNorCal is about much, much more than business #defytheodds

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Post-Release Fall Season got off to a great start last night, including the announcement of a new partnership with @CreativeLive ! Thank you CL team for supporting second chances! #defytheodds

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Let's hear it for San Francisco and Mayor @LondonBreed !

[London Breed @LondonBreed]

We should be helping people get their lives back on track after they have paid their debt to society, not garnishing their wages. I'm proud that this builds on my legislation to eliminate these unnecessary fees. @TreasurerSF @JeffAdachi @GeorgeGascon

https://t.co/oNbAAV8XjL

[Prison Policy Initiative @PrisonPolicy]

Housing justice and criminal justice are linked. Homelessness is nearly 12 times higher among people just released from prison - giving them stable homes would transform the reentry process.
https://t.co/SId0tlM8Pu

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Good news to start the week - @CommonApp takes a step in the right direction by no longer requiring students to disclose their criminal history when applying to college! https://t.co/PpE9T51YR9

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

Next time you're on your way out for a hike, bike, run, climb... may we suggest you bring @insideoutbars with you? "Criminally delicious, functionally nutritious" bars made by Defy grad Seth Sundberg! https://t.co/ntEi6azn5I

[Defy of Northern California @DefyNorCal]

New criminal justice podcast on the scene! The first episode is a greater primer on the INjustice of bail https://t.co/8qi2zznaLe