The Confidence Curve
The Confidence Curve is a podcast that explores the dynamic journeys of successful professionals who have scaled organizations and left lasting legacies. Hosted by Ashley and Rick Bowers, each episode delves into the challenges, victories, and lessons learned. Through engaging conversations with leaders across industries, this podcast offers listeners valuable insights, practical advice, and inspiration to confidently navigate their paths—whether in business, leadership, or personal growth. Join us as we uncover strategies that build successful careers and impactful legacies.
The Confidence Curve
Redefining Workforce Dynamics and Opportunities
Unlock the secrets to empowering incarcerated women and transforming their lives through employment in our latest episode with the remarkable Michelle Cirocco from the Televerde Foundation.
Discover how this nonprofit is turning the tide against staggering unemployment rates for the 70 million Americans with criminal records by providing essential training and support. Michelle shares inspiring personal stories that shatter stereotypes and highlight the resilience and determination of these women. The foundation's initiatives, including their popular annual golf tournament, are expanding their mission far beyond Arizona, reaching states like Indiana and Florida.
We shine a light on the critical importance of developing emotional intelligence and workplace skills for professional success. Learn how nearly a thousand women have been empowered since 2020, with impressive employment outcomes and retention rates. Emotional intelligence isn't just a buzzword—it's a tangible skill that can enhance decision-making, engagement, and loyalty in the workplace. Michelle emphasizes the role of these skills in transforming workforce dynamics and improving retention, offering a fresh perspective on reintegration into society.
Explore the strategic side of non-profits with us as Michelle discusses balancing social impact with business growth. Uncover the power of strategic partnerships and how aligning with industry needs can create a win-win situation for everyone involved. Treating social challenges as business opportunities, Michelle reveals the innovative approaches that have helped the foundation succeed while expanding its reach. We invite businesses to break stigmas and connect with the foundation to support individuals transitioning from incarceration to meaningful careers, highlighting the transformative potential of relationship-building and workforce development initiatives.
Welcome to the Confidence Curve with Ashley and Rick Bowers, where personal and professional journeys define the art of scaling with confidence. Whether you're a business leader navigating change or someone seeking personal growth, this podcast offers insights and actionable advice to help you thrive. Now let's dive into today's conversation with our incredible guest.
Speaker 2:So welcome to the Confidence Curve. We are here with Michelle Sirocco, the Televerti Foundation, and I couldn't be more excited about having you on our podcast today. Rick and I have got to know Michelle over the last several years with Rick, but I think we've known each other for what 15-ish years.
Speaker 3:A long time ago, that's for sure. Maybe not date ourselves.
Speaker 2:If we can just start and maybe a little bit about yourself and the Televerti Foundation before we get started into the questions.
Speaker 3:Sure. So I always question and wonder where I should start the story, because it's a long story and I usually joke around and say, well, it all began when I was two, but that's just being glib. So the Televerti Foundation is a local organization that I was asked to start back in 2021, actually March 1st of 2021. And it is a nonprofit workforce development organization that specializes in providing incarcerated women with jobs and training and support and services to prepare to come back into the community and into meaningful and rewarding work and successfully stay out of prison for the rest of their lives.
Speaker 2:It's such amazing work and I have the privilege of serving on the board for Michelle as well and just meeting the ladies, going out to the facilities and just seeing every single day what you're doing for them, and I really want to dig into the conversation today about what they're doing for us right and enriching our lives as being a part of it, and really how the foundation connects with employers and the work that they can do and the amazing employees that they can become for organizations that are willing to provide that second chance. And, you know, look past a label and really look to that human. So can't wait to dig into the conversation.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I would say I'm most excited about your golf tournament. Every year it's an amazing golf course and it raises a lot of money for the foundation and those kinds of things, and so this year was the second annual and I feel like it was a great turnout and a lot of fun, so beautiful day for that this year.
Speaker 3:Awesome. Thank you. We had a great time and are looking to set the date for next year at the same location.
Speaker 4:Great.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So can you talk to me just a little bit about some of the numbers and the statistics around the work that you're doing and the fact that the foundation has been so successful in eliminating that rebound effect and just how difficult it is for women when they're exiting to get employment and to have people look past that and kind of really that core piece of why you started the foundation?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. There's a lot of things to talk about in that question and I think I might actually like to set up the stage a little bit to help people understand the situation a little bit. To help people understand the situation specifically like what does incarceration look like in our world? And things people don't actually think about, or maybe you have heard about it. You know that 70% of the people in our country I'm sorry, I just lost my thought process at 70%, it's not 70%, it's 70 million people in our country have a criminal record. What this actually means is to put it into perspective when you think about it is that if you know somebody with a college degree, you probably know somebody who has a criminal record, because it is one in three people in our country. It's a lot and it continues to grow, and when somebody has a felony conviction, it's like a scarlet letter that follows them forever.
Speaker 3:The challenges associated with having a criminal record, being directly impacted by the justice system, really show up in so many ways, and one of the biggest ways is employment. For somebody with a criminal record, the unemployment rate is five times that of the national average, and it's even worse for women. In fact, for women. One full calendar year after being released from incarceration, over 50% of women will still be unemployed is when we think about incarceration, and it's supposed to be rehabilitation and correction, and that you come out of prison and you should be able to reintegrate into the community. It's just simply not the story.
Speaker 3:Every year, there are about 700,000 people that are released from prison, and the recidivism rate is depending on what frame of time you look at. Rate is, depending on what frame of time you look at, can range from anywhere from 20% in the first year to 80% within eight years, and the number one predictor for recidivism is joblessness. And so, as I said, with an unemployment rate five times the national average, it's no wonder why we have such a high recidivism rate and why our prison populations are so full. There's currently about 2 million people who are incarcerated in the United States. So that's kind of just helping to understand and I'm talking big numbers. We're sitting here in little old Phoenix Arizona, big numbers. You know we're sitting here in little old Phoenix, Arizona, but we have 41,000 people in prison here in Arizona and close to 10% of them are women, and so that's where our heart and our passion is and has been is with serving the women here in Arizona, but also in a few other states Indiana and Florida.
Speaker 2:I think one of the things that was really eye-opening to me and this has to be, I don't know probably eight or 10 years ago and you and I were having we were having lunch at Red Robin actually.
Speaker 2:It really stood out to me and we were sitting there and talking and you just looked across it to me and you're like Ashley, half the women that are in there are women, just like us. I mean, they're educated women, They've had professional careers and, like you think about it, it's a bad back pushing through a deadline and there's a prescription and things derail and so you know the reasons behind it and to just you know, put that blanket, scarlet letter, as you say, across people and not understand their story, not understand what got them to that place. But then, even having the opportunity to go out and tour the facility at Perryville, I did not know what to expect and I was terrified. And, like my entire interaction with the justice system as a human being is, I have been pulled over one time in my life, right, so I was terrified and did not know what to think and within seconds you almost forget that you're in a prison because obviously you have the option to walk out, Like right, Like you know that. But your interaction with the humans that are in there is just and they're humans, right, Like we put these other labels on them. They are humans and they are necessary and they are a part of our society and our future.
Speaker 2:And I think that day they had like a 30 minute heads up that we were coming and they had a PowerPoint together. They were standing up and presenting in front of complete strangers. They knew like the mission, the story, they could answer questions so articulate and it was just. It was amazing Like anyone would be lucky to employ any one of the women that I was able to interact with that day, but for some reason we don't think about that and we don't go to them as a resource and even maybe shy away from it. So how is the foundation breaking through some of those barriers? And what do employers need to know about the benefits of bringing on formerly incarcerated women who you know, they've been through it and they've worked so hard, especially if they were part of the Tel Aviv Foundation. They have self-efficacy, They've gone through assessments which I'm sure Rick will jump into and they've learned about themselves and they're ready to make a difference. What do they need to know?
Speaker 3:Well, I think the first thing to think about is I think you kind of touched on it the people who exist in our prisons are people just like you and I. They're people who went left when they should have gone right. Circumstances in their life led to whatever decisions they made on the worst days of their life. And so I always say do you want to be judged for the worst decisions you made on the worst day of your life? Say you know, in full transparency, full honesty, that we have never gotten behind the wheel after one too many, or when we were in college or wherever we were, we didn't do X, y or Z that could have resulted us in us ending up there. So that's the first thing, is just recognizing that these are people that, by virtue of whatever circumstance, made some decisions that resulted in them being there. But then it's about what happens when you're there.
Speaker 3:How do people do their time, and we can be led to believe that what we see on TV and in the movies is what's really happening in our prisons.
Speaker 3:And certainly in some pockets, in some places perhaps, yes, but in general it's people who have found themselves in a spot and when they got there they realized I need to figure out how to have a better life, I need to do something different if I'm going to survive, and so that's essentially what the foundation does is we provide everybody with that opportunity, a platform on which they can rebuild their lives, and it's we've developed a really, really comprehensive program that addresses the entire human being. Right, like people want to say words like comprehensive and holistic and wrap around and I don't know what the exact word to describe it is I say right, like we're all people and we're a complete person, and we help the women get right in all aspects physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, vocationally, educationally and financially. And right. So the program is built around all of these elements that enable a person to really use their time, to come out of prison a better person than they were when they went in.
Speaker 2:So I know you've done some work with training the foundation, with the assessments on emotional intelligence. You want to kind of add to that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we had a very fun day when I came down to the office with all of the team and we went through the emotional intelligence training and went through the certification process. We utilized the TTI, success Insights Emotional Intelligence. They were gracious enough to donate the assessments to the foundation, but it really kind of creates the number one thing that I think can help them get to that next space, which is the self-awareness, and so helping an individual whether it's somebody that's incarcerated or working with a very successful CEO in an organization they still need to have that self-awareness and self-regulation, and sometimes we're aware of what's going on but we can't regulate it back. And so how, what kind of results are you seeing with the girls that have gone through the emotional intelligence assessment, and kind of are they? Yeah, it's it's incredible.
Speaker 3:So emotional intelligence, the whole idea stems from years ago. My boss told me like oh, you need to develop yourself, your emotional intelligence and I went the heck does that mean and how does one go about doing that? And so when I was tasked with starting the foundation and developing curriculum to help the women prepare, I thought, okay, well, emotional intelligence how do we teach it? And fortunately, you know, since the decades ago when I got that advice, lots of people have figured out what it is and how to talk about it and how to develop it.
Speaker 3:And so emotional intelligence is part of our core curriculum. And so you were talking about what can businesses expect from hiring our women? Like, from day one we start on you know personality types, your personal core values, feedback, and all you could do was go. I can't understand that. That's not true. I don't believe them. Right, I'm not that person.
Speaker 3:So, teaching people how to receive feedback, but also how to effectively give it, not just to people beneath them but to peers, and give feedback to your boss and be honest and transparent, so really developing those essential skills that I think are really critical at work, because we can teach people job skills, that's the easy part. The vocational part is easy. People go to prison all the time and learn vocational skills. You can get college degrees, you can get HVAC, you can get plumbing, you can get all kinds of trades and certificates to do to do jobs, but without the essential skills, without emotional intelligence and critical thinking and communication skills and public speaking skills, the ability to clearly articulate an idea or a thought in a meaningful manner, right, or even the ability to deescalate a heated situation. So we focus on that's like the first semester of everything that we do is to help people like develop those essential human skills that so many of us are lacking.
Speaker 4:Okay, the saying goes to you hire for skills and fire for attitude. And the attitude is a big piece and it's a choice. Attitude's a choice. The hard skills are things that you have to kind of learn and kind of understand that. But it's the hard skills versus the people skills, and the people skills kind of get you to that next level. The hard skills get you in a door and so, where you can kind of understand that, the biggest, bigger difference it makes. One of the things additionally with EQ is one negative event can affect your decision-making ability for up to four hours on average, and so think about having someone road rage or something like that. That's that simple. And now you're making poor decisions behind the wheel or you walk into a negative email in the office and you're like frustrated the rest of the morning and those kinds of things. So that's such a powerful tool to kind of work through.
Speaker 3:Well, and that's what it's amazing to watch the light bulbs go off when we teach the emotional intelligence. And then they get their report and they work with their manager on their assessment because it tells them these are the things that I need, and watching how they just bloom. And it is one of the things you know at end of program that people say, like emotional intelligence was just a biggie for me, Like because it does. It helps them regulate their emotions and they didn't get there because they were good at regulating emotions and reacting effectively in, you know, rough situations. So yeah, it's such a great piece of the program.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know it's interesting because so many times, like with assessments right, there are certain assessments where you're kind of hardwired, you are who you are, but with the emotional intelligence it is something that can be developed right. So no matter where they are when they're starting, they, like you said, like there's to do some things like that where they can continue to grow. It kind of leads me to the topic of employee engagement, right, every organization out there struggles with it. You know some more than others. Different times it might be more difficult than others, but can you just give me some examples or even just your thoughts in general on how engaged and committed and loyal these women are when they take employment? I know some of the stats are unbelievable as far as their retention and staying in not only with one company but within a specific job in a company. So can you talk to that a little bit, based on the programming?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So let's talk just a little bit high-level stats about the results that we've been able to achieve since we started the program in 2020. We've had 985 women go through the program. I'm really excited because next week we will enroll number 1,000.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, we're really excited 645 women have transitioned back into the community and the results that they're realizing are just incredible. So 94% of them have been employed within 45 days, average starting salary of about $40,000 a year, but, specifically to your point, like the commitment that they have when they get into what we call a B job. So, for perspective, we talk a lot about ABC jobs and a job is like look, you got to get out, you got to get a job, you got to get money coming in. Your responsibility when you get there is to show up to deliver, to demonstrate right and get a raise, get an increase, get promoted or get stable enough that you can now go out and find that B job, a better job. And so a better job is defined as generally anything that's $40,000 a year or more that you can see a pathway to what your next stage is in that job. So it's not working at Taco Bell thinking you're going to get the team lead job, but it's, you know it's a pathway. And then, when you get into that better job, now it's time to start to continue the investment in yourself, continue to learn, continue to grow, get some schooling so that you can now progress it to your career job, what is your career aspirations?
Speaker 3:And so the women who, once they land in what we define as a B job, their average tenure right now is about 540 days, so about 18 months, and considering the runway that we're talking about is pretty short. But these are entry-level, mid-entry-level positions and that's the space where most companies are having the hardest time retaining people, their hardest time attracting people and the hardest time retaining people in those jobs, and so we have a pool of talent I'm graduating right now about 300 women a year who are eager for these jobs, and when they get there, they are incredibly loyal and dedicated, because one of the things I can tell you from experience is that the only worst thing worse than telling somebody you've been to prison right, that there's nothing worse than having to test so you don't want to the only thing worse than going to prison is actually having to tell somebody you've been there, there you go Tongue tied a couple times today not usual.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So if you could imagine when you come out of prison you don't exactly want to run around telling everybody hey, I went to prison, so once you get the job and you've gone through the process of explaining it and somebody has said, hey, I'll give you a chance, I'll give you an opportunity. You really want to get in there and prove yourself. And Like, you really want to get in there and prove yourself and and you don't want to have to leave and go repeat the cycle again, and so people tend to stay incredibly loyal. Televerti, the for profit business, is a phenomenal example. I mean, the average tenure of the women who go to work at Televerti after incarceration is something like eight and a half years. I mean, we just love to stick around like eight and a half years.
Speaker 2:I mean, we, we just love to stick around. Well, and I think too, just when you think about 18 months, right In in a single position within an organization, the competition for those roles are going to be new grads coming out of high, coming out of college, and you know they're, they're coming in, it's their first job out of college, they're trying to make that mark for themselves. Um, you know they're in that same range, but within six months they're like where's my promotion? I'm ready, like let's go next. And so it's constantly as like a manager and a leader of like okay, hold on, like let's throttle back, let's do this, let's do that, and like taking them through a path, whereas the engagement with these women and staying in and you know, kind of leaning into that position and having the patience and the emotional intelligence and all the things that they're taught through their programming, I think is just monumentally beneficial to organizations.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well and it's even the jobs you know, cause they, the jobs that they'll take and want and be thrilled with, are the ones the college kids won't touch. And they're not likely to be 18 months in going. So when am I going to be a director Right? When do I get my VP title?
Speaker 4:Yes, yeah, everybody just wants to check a box and move to the next step. Yeah, and it's just not that simple. What do you find? How does the experience that they bring and some of them don't have a lot of experience, some of them probably have a ton of experience how does that play into the different types of jobs that they can get?
Speaker 3:Well, I think that does play a lot into it, right? So some of the women that have more experience can land into higher level inside sales or IT positions, where the ones that don't have experience but have done all the training they're more likely coming into those customer service entry level inside sales roles. The space where we are really struggling to get people positions, which is kind of baffles me, is in the IT space. So these women are getting certified from Cisco and Google in IT networking, cybersecurity, project management, and it's really hard to get somebody to take a chance. They have all the credentials in the world and it's hard to get anybody to take a chance on them without actually experience, right? So it's the old adage like how do you get experience if you don't you know, and so that we bump into that a lot.
Speaker 2:So, kind of just thinking through all the different experiences you've had since starting the foundation, can you pull maybe a personal story that really embodies the success of the work that you're doing inside the foundation and with the women? I'm sure you have several, I know.
Speaker 3:There's so many of the women with such great stories Jeez, it's always hard to pick one, I guess. Probably. I mean one of my favorites is probably Ashley. And Ashley was in the very, very first cohort of our workforce development program and she's probably tired of me telling this story, but she had been sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was at eight years and she had done no programming whatsoever and we were launching this new program, looking for 15 people to follow me on this vision that I had to go build this workforce development program and who was going to be brave enough to follow along.
Speaker 3:And she signed up for the program only because her counselor or prison boss kind of told her that she should do it. And day one came and she showed up at the door and kind of knocked on the door and said you know, hey, I need to talk to you. And she's like I'm not going to partake in the program. And I was like, well, what do you mean? And she's like, well, I'm really busy. I'm like I look, kind of look around look around the prison.
Speaker 3:I'm looking at her in her shorts and her shower shoes and I'm like you're really busy, really. What do you got going on? And she's like, well, you know, I'm going home in a couple months and I just I have a lot to do. And I'm like, oh, like well, what do you got to do? Well, I'm planning, and you know, and I'm thinking about what I'm going to do, and so I just I just have a lot going on. I go, okay, well, are you sure? Like, are you sure you're not scared? Because I understand if you're scared, because this kind of seems like a lot. No, I'm not scared. She's like I'm just busy. So she stomps off and I'm like, okay.
Speaker 3:And so week goes by and I keep passing her every day, I like walk by and she looks at me, and so then, finally, about the end of the first week, she comes up and she's like I think I made a mistake. So when you do the next class, she's like I'll, I'll enroll in the next class. I'm like, oh, well, you know what? We still have a desk available if you want. Like, come see me on Monday and let's talk about it. And so she came on Monday and the other girls that had been there for a week. I'm like, okay, this is like Survivor, they're going to vote you on or off. And the other girl said, well, she can stay. And yeah.
Speaker 3:So she goes through program. She insists that she doesn't like to learn I'm a terrible student, I can't learn anything. She starts her Arizona State University classes so all the women do six credits from ASU and communications Starts the classes and realized that she's like falling in love with learning and she can't get enough of it. And so she goes through the whole six-month program and realizes that she is not prepared to go home, that her plans for where she was going to go home to were not safe and not healthy, because we do a lot of work on like boundaries and what are your plans and you know what are you going to do for the future.
Speaker 3:And she goes into her counselor and she waives her parole and makes a decision to stay in prison for another year. Like that's stunning to think about. And she just basically said I need to stay here so I can learn more skills and really kind of develop myself to be prepared to go out and do the right thing. And so she hired on at Telverde, the for-profit company, and then ultimately hired on at the foundation as a project coordinator for-profit company and then ultimately hired on at the foundation as a project coordinator.
Speaker 3:One of my very first hires she was released on Valentine's Day and what I love about the story about being released on Valentine's Day is she went to prison behind some really bad, dysfunctional relationships because she was highly codependent and all of those things that we can be. And she was released on Valentine's Day and she said you know, I was released and I didn't need anybody and I didn't need anybody to need me. And she started her role at the Tel Aviv Foundation two weeks later as a program specialist and since that time it's now been 18 months a little over 18 months. She has enrolled at Arizona State University, she's completed her project management certification, she's been promoted and she has reunited with her children and just really launched a beautiful life better than she, like she says, better than I ever imagined possible, even before I went to prison.
Speaker 2:I think what's so beautiful about that story is that she achieved a level of freedom that nobody else can provide her and nobody else can take away from her, you know, through being incarcerated and going through programming and all of that, and was able to come out with that type of feeling and perspective and just confidence.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, it's because it's so many things right. It's the personal independence, financial independence, it's mental independence, there's so many things which is everything that we do is built on this concept of self-efficacy and for employers, I think, self-efficacy for individuals, self-efficacy and for employers, like, I think, self-efficacy for individuals, self-efficacy is incredible, but it's such a great gift for employers if your folks have self-efficacy, because it's basically when somebody realizes that, hey, you know what, I can learn something new, I'm capable of learning, and then they will invest the time and effort and the commitment and the persistence to actually learn it and then apply it and put it to work and achieve. On the other side, so it's like, oh, maybe I could, oh, yes, I can, and oh, by golly I will, and then to keep repeating that cycle over and over, and so it creates this drive of always wanting to do more and try more.
Speaker 4:So we've talked a lot about the purpose, but as a successful business leader, how do you balance the social impact with the profitability and keeping the business growing and thriving as you have?
Speaker 3:Yeah well, the beauty of nonprofit.
Speaker 2:Or the funding balance, the funding right, the beauty of nonprofit Like.
Speaker 3:the first thing that I learned is nonprofit does not mean no revenue.
Speaker 3:I always laugh when people say I want to start a nonprofit. I'm like, oh, it's not for the faint of heart, it is. Look, it's a constant. And as somebody who didn't come into the nonprofit world with any experience in nonprofit, I think the first thing that I learned is that, you know, I had a sales and marketing background and, like all of a sudden, now my job was to sell something that had no tangible.
Speaker 3:It's just about, you know, the impact and the power that we're having and so, um, you know the balances is spending the time and finding all of the right grants and resources and funders that support this type of work. So there is that that is something that's out there, but it's a lot of work and it's highly competitive. But we are. You know, part of the way that we do this is through corporate sponsorships. So companies that recognize that they have a need for talent and are willing to make an investment or, you know, get involved in creating their own what I call prison to workforce pipelines. So you've got a talent gap and I have highly motivated and dedicated people that can help you solve that problem. Our workforce development program is designed in such a way that we can. The curriculum. The second semester of their curriculum is interchangeable, so that we can actually prepare people for companies' very specific in-demand jobs, so that they are walking out job-ready to walk into your organization and start to be productive from day one.
Speaker 2:I think that that's something. Obviously, businesses and individuals are always deciding where to give the gifts that they're prepared to give in any particular year, but I just feel like when, definitely biased, but I feel like with the foundation it's, it's not just giving. There are so many different ways in where organizations can have a very, very strong return. They can solve needs. There are tax benefits to hiring formerly incarcerated individuals, and so it's yes, there is the cause and the donations and all of that that obviously makes the foundation go around. But there are those services for placement and training and development.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's obviously what we do, right Constantly coaching and developing employees, teaching them emotional intelligence, giving them their job skills, kind of pulling them back and saying like, hey, let's pause and here's a career path and this is what we want to do. You're literally doing all of that work for these organizations and in those corporate sponsorships, if there's a need that anyone has out there for a specific skill set with employees, as Michelle was saying, they can change out that curriculum, and so literally people can be being trained while they're in prison, before they're on your payroll, and then move into the organization and be ready to start being productive and contribute, and they're going to be extraordinarily loyal too. So I mean it really does solve a need both directions. It's a two-way street with the work that companies can do with the foundation, and I think that that's unique and special about the work you're doing Absolutely Well and it's certainly more valuable than just giving right, of course, and I shouldn't say that we graciously accept donations of all sizes and shapes and forms.
Speaker 3:However, this is a solution to a business problem, and that is always how I viewed the work that we're doing is this is a societal problem and it's a business problem, and it's a business problem, and that is always how I viewed the work that we're doing is this is a this is a societal problem and it's a business problem and it's a people problem, and I believe that when, when we can bring the three together, um, we can really have lasting impact on people's lives, on people, on our communities, um, and on our workplaces.
Speaker 3:I mean it's what it, it's what matters.
Speaker 2:Well, it goes back to the conscious capitalism and we're sitting in Mac six, obviously, where the chapter is. But we've all done work in that space and this is like a true conscious capitalism movement, every single person. It's good for all stakeholders involved and community, obviously, the individuals, the company, the vendors, just all around. It makes sense.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, and when you think about conscious capitalism and one of the words that tends to come to mind, at least for me, is the empathy, and that ties back to the emotional intelligence again, which, in the categories in the TTI assessment, it's social awareness. It's like how aware am I of how my actions and things are impacting other people? And I mean that makes a huge difference in terms of communication and presenting yourself in a job interview and all of the pieces that people have to go through as they make transitions in their life.
Speaker 2:Can you talk a little bit too, as Rick was mentioning earlier, kind of balancing the purpose and the mission of the foundation with the business side of it? You and your team, you run it like a business and you're in and your senior team needs your strategic planning. So what have been some of those strategies to make sure that the foundation is successful, that you've pulled over from that for-profit side?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's an interesting question, Because when I was asked to do this, my immediate response was I know nothing about running a nonprofit, I don't want to do this, I don't know how to do this. And my boss said, good, go run it like a business. And I was like probably the best piece of advice anybody ever gave me, because I immediately just sat down and said, okay, build a business plan. Values, what's our three-year strategic plan? What's our one-year tactics? Goals, strategies and tactics Like the same exact framework that I employed, you know, when I was, you know, running the for-profit side of the business was. I just basically applied those principles to what we do, and it's I mean, it's the basics of what you do in business. In fact, I'm getting ready here at Mac6. Two weeks from now, we've got the conference room reserved where we'll be doing our 2025 strategic planning session, and it's a matter of you know. We know what our long-term goal is, and our long-term goal is, you know, now it's two more years out and that's to be serving 1,000 people a year, and you know.
Speaker 3:Then there's the four different pillars that we have to achieve to get those, and I think probably the biggest one that is relevant to anybody is, you know, really diversifying your revenue streams. Right, I can't be 100% on government grants, because governments change, you know, and with the changes in leadership can be changes in priorities which then trickle down to changes in funding. So can't be ever dependent on one single customer, right, we all know that in business. So just really diversifying those revenue streams. And then, of course, the same thing, right, Processes, right, Streamlining our processes, operations. So how are we as efficient as possible so that we can achieve as much as we can with the least amount of expense?
Speaker 3:Because that is an unfortunate um side of the nonprofit world is that you are expected to do everything with less than you know, 15%, uh, administrative overhead costs. So it makes it really hard. They expect you to pay people terribly, but I refuse to do that. So hence the reason why diversifying revenue is so important. And then, really, employee engagement and governance. So it's the same core principles that you apply to any business. And just staying true to what the mission is, I think is probably the key thing is we talk a lot about swim lanes in business and what is the mission? You have your mission statement and always going back to how does this serve the mission and staying focused right, Because we can't be everything to everybody. So this is what our vision is. We're an employment first model and we believe that people succeed when we empower them to have everything they need to get out of prison and have successful and meaningful and rewarding careers.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So what's next for the foundation?
Speaker 3:What's next for the foundation? As I said, our goal right now is to be serving 1,000 people a year. We're about halfway there. With the newest agreement that we just will do five, we're expecting to serve about 525 people in 2025. That's a good number. I just realized that because I just did the calculations yesterday. I'm like oh, it's 525. How convenient.
Speaker 2:That is going to come up everywhere in Michelle's marketing, that sales and marketing background is going to play on it for sure. 25 and 25.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's exactly right. So donate $25, 25,000, 2,500, because we're going to do 25 and 25.
Speaker 2:She's going to grab her phone and start texting somebody. The new marketing plan.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so yeah, and so then it's a matter of the where are we going? Right now we are proactively setting up operations in Florida. We're going to start a little pilot in Florida. We're going to kind of try to get our way in much the way we got our way in here in Arizona, small and subtle Miami. We'll have a big event there second week of December opportunities to actually come and see the prison and get involved and be on the ground floor of the investment and the development of this program. Place that we're going to go? Illinois, idaho, north Dakota, ohio there's a lot of places on my radar. It's a matter of what states, what organizations are committed to making a difference in the lives of the folks that are coming out of prison and finding ways to partner with them.
Speaker 4:So back to the golf tournament. A couple of people that played with us in the golf tournament didn't really know a lot about it, but as we were having conversations on the course and then having the all of your women on the course at the different holes telling their stories and things is always great. But how to? How to companies? How can they get more involved? If they want to potentially hire, what can they do to?
Speaker 3:Well, the easiest way to get involved is to connect with me. Linkedin I am actually somebody. If you connect with me on LinkedIn and you send me a personal message, I will answer your message. I will connect with you. I will meet with you personally. I think relationships are the most important piece of the game. Personally, I think relationships are the most important piece of the game, and so you can find me on LinkedIn, which is just Michelle with two L's Sirocco, c-i-r-o-c-c-o. That's an easy way.
Speaker 3:Or, of course, our website, which is televityfoundationorg. If you go to the website and you fill out a thing, somebody will contact you within 24 hours and see how we can partner with you. Or if you'd like to get involved in volunteering or you just want to know more about our programs, we love to share the stories and I would tell you candidly, my favorite thing to do is to take people to prison. So if you are really interested in learning more and you'd like to actually get a sense for especially from an employment standpoint, because sometimes it's hard the media has taught us to think about what exists in our prisons in a certain way, and so to really like change that perspective. That's why I say nothing makes me happier than to take people to prison, because, at the very least, when you go there, you realize it's not what you expected, and it helps to break down the stigmas associated with incarceration, and so I would encourage anybody who is interested in getting involved in our work to reach out and get involved in that way.
Speaker 4:Don't sneak your cell phone in like Ashley did.
Speaker 3:Don't say that on the radio.
Speaker 2:I'm going to be having a different level of interaction with law enforcement after that. So, yeah, and again, just to kind of amplify the point as we close up here, you know, if you're an employer who is needing a solve for your workforce development and employment options, it's really a great place to start. Have a conversation, go have coffee with Michelle or one of the team members and just you know, see what's out there. It just it really makes a difference. Personally, my entire perspective has changed with working with the foundation, so I'm forever grateful for that and it's just amazing.
Speaker 2:Women, amazing stories and a lot of good work has happened and a lot of work needs to still happen and businesses need this. You know we talked with businesses every single day that are looking for people who want to work and want to make a difference and really want to, you know, get in and help a company grow, and there is a pool of talent available, graduating each and every year, so definitely tap into them. But thank you so much for being here today. We really appreciate your time and all the work that you're doing.
Speaker 3:Thank you, I do, actually. Can I take one more comment, because it occurred to me just this moment that I shared a lot of statistics with you about how many people have been through our program and how many people have come back into the community, and I also shared with you the high rates of recidivism and how many people go back to prison. And what I didn't share with you was the ultimate impact of our program. So, for those 645 women that have transitioned back into the community over the past four and a half years, only three people have gone back to prison. So less than 1% recidivism rate compared to national averages that range from 20 to 80%. So it's a program that works because, as I mentioned, employment is the biggest predictor and the women are able to come out and get into good jobs and stay there, rebuild their lives, rebuild their families and just stay out of prison forever.
Speaker 2:And just as many children have been impacted by that too. Right, that kind of the number goes kind of hand in hand.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we talk about the ripple effect. So that's 60% of women in prison have children under the age of 18. And so for our women, for the 645 women that have come home, there are 1,217 children that are experiencing the positive benefit of having their mom come home and stay home and really just breaking those generational cycles of poverty and incarceration.
Speaker 2:Back to the impact. It impacts us all our communities, our work, our companies, our hearts. So thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 3:My pleasure. Thank you for having me our hearts.
Speaker 1:So thank you so much for being here my pleasure. Thank you for having me. Thanks for tuning in to the Confidence Curve. We hope today's episode left you inspired and ready to embrace your journey confidently. Remember whether you're leading a team, growing your business or pursuing personal growth, each step forward builds your curve. If you enjoyed today's conversation, don't forget to subscribe, share and leave us a review. For more insights and resources, visit us at apexgtscom. Until next time, keep climbing the curve.