Ideagen Radio
Ideagen Radio
Catalyze Impact Ep. 4 - Empowering Change: Gemma Garcia on Transforming Lives in Prison Through LEAP
How did a former Wall Street trader become a beacon of hope for incarcerated women? Join us as Gemma Garcia, the inspiring co-founder of the Ladies' Empowerment in Action Program (LEAP), shares her journey from the fast-paced world of finance to transforming lives behind prison walls. Discover how her move to Miami and subsequent volunteer work in prisons opened her eyes to the power of education and personal development for women with traumatic pasts. Gemma delves into the core elements of LEAP, highlighting the importance of trauma-informed education, holistic support, and strategic partnerships, like the one with NBC Telemundo, which provides critical internship opportunities for graduates.
Feel the passion in Gemma’s voice as she reflects on the profound rewards of her work with LEAP. She shares moving stories of transformation, such as a program graduate who rose to become the director of LEAP’s reentry center, proving the program’s impact on reducing recidivism and enhancing community reintegration. We also underscore the vital contributions of retired volunteers, like grant writers, showing that meaningful opportunities for those over 50 are essential to the program’s success. This episode is a testament to the power of vision and community in creating a brighter future for women seeking a second chance.
#AARP #Ideaegen #LEAP
Learn more about LEAP here: https://leapforladies.org/
Watch more Catalyze Impact Podcasts here: https://www.ideagenradio.com/770459
Learn more about the AARP Purpose Prize here: https://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/purpose-prize/
Welcome to IdeaGen TV. Today, I am honored and privileged to have with us Gemma Garcia, co-founder of the Ladies' Empowerment in Action Program, referred to as LEAP Gemma welcome.
Speaker 2:Thank you, George.
Speaker 1:What an exciting day, gemma, to have you on IdeaGen TV. It's especially exciting as a juror as a juror for the purpose prize, of which you are a recipient, and you know it goes without saying that there's so much incredible work being done globally, nationally, all over the place, and it's being highlighted through this incredible purpose prize led by and highlighted by AARP. And so I wanted to make sure we mentioned that at the top of this interview, because it is a testament to your hard work that you are listed in the class of honorees of this purpose prize. So, with that, I want to first start by saying congratulations for being part of that, because it's an august group.
Speaker 2:Thank you of that, because it's an august group, thank you. It was a great honor to be one of the seven winners this year. Uh, very proud and very proud of uh, especially the work that our organization does.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, as you should be so on that note, I think, to begin by asking you what has been your journey, what are those key moments, in that journey as well, that have inspired you to co-create what is referred to as LEAP?
Speaker 2:Well, it's very interesting because my background is a Wall Street. I was a Wall Street trader and that was in New York. That was my life in New York and then we moved to Miami and, being a type A personality, I had to start getting involved and I became very involved with my church. I became very involved with my church and I was invited to start going into a faith-based weekend presentation in the prison. And the very first time that I went to the prison, I was touched because it was the first time that I had been in prison, the first time that I really had encountered women with so much trauma in their lives.
Speaker 2:I've been very blessed to have an amazing family, not only immediate but also extended family. So in a way, you could say that I grew up in a bubble, so this was totally new to me. And when I presented that weekend and I presented a few of those weekends and I knew that I had to do something, it was in my heart. God put it in my heart and that's what started the conversations with the other two co-founders.
Speaker 1:And so how did you determine the core focus of LEAP? So you created it, but then co-created it as well, but how did you, you know, really zero in on those core focus areas and then look at areas like education, personal development, post-release support, et cetera?
Speaker 2:personal- development, post-release support, et cetera. Well, we, you know, we decided that education was a key component, especially because we had them basically there. They were there, they weren't going anywhere, so we knew that it was an opportunity for them to teach. For me personally, education is a very strong value in my family. I was born in Cuba and my parents, when we left. My parents are both accountants, and the one thing that they always taught us was the only thing that Castro couldn't take away from them was their education, and thanks to their education, they were able to progress in this country and be able to educate us. So I knew that education had to be a very important component of the program, had to be a very important component of the program.
Speaker 2:They say that for people that have been incarcerated, it's like a three-legged stool you need education, you need housing and you need jobs. So we knew that. So that was the education. But we also said, okay, wait a second, we can teach a lot of things. We can teach about entrepreneurship, we can teach about employability skills, but we also need to work on changing the mindset. We need to work on the trauma and the addiction that these women are facing. Trauma and the addiction that these women are facing. I can very proud say that's not how it was at the beginning of LEAP, but I can very proud say that today we have a complete holistic approach. We have not only, as I said, an entrepreneurship employability, but we have a cognitive behavior curriculum. We have a trauma, we have addiction and once they get out, we have employment because we now have a thrift store and we have housing because we also have transitional homes.
Speaker 1:And so the role of community. You've got the community. You've got support. You've got collaboration. What does all that play, gemma, in LEAP's overall and incredible success?
Speaker 2:The role of community is really key for many aspects, from finding mentors for the lady or finding employment for the ladies, or also being able to rent homes, people, that owners that are open to renting a home for us. It is not easy because as soon as they see what we do, many will not rent to us. So the community plays a key, really a key role. To give you an example, we have formed a very strong partnership with NBC Telemundo and they are giving us the opportunity to have interns, lead graduates, intern with them and it has been a very successful program and a program that we're hopeful that we can also be able to do with other companies here in South Florida.
Speaker 1:And so, as you're looking at leadership, leadership contains key principles, and so what principles, gemma, guide you on your decision-making journey and leadership style at LEAP?
Speaker 2:I think a number of things. I think first and foremost, I'd like to use the season approach and use the things that in my career have worked and haven't worked. I think also a very key component is the vision. I can tell you that from the very beginning, when we started LEAP 15 and a half years ago, we knew that we wanted to have more than just the program in the prison. We knew that it would take time because it takes money to do that.
Speaker 2:But having the vision, I think, really can get one motivated not to just sit on your original idea but to be able to grow. It also motivates the staff to see here, here we score. It's a non-profit that wants to grow and wants to be able to help more people, and perfect example that is we started in the prison. We're now presenting a shorter version of the program in the jails. So right now I would say we're pretty much working with about 500 women or have worked not right now working with 500, but have worked and have been able to touch 500 lives. In addition, we now have the reentry center, which welcomes any women that comes out of the prison or the jail system and that can stop by and receive support from us. So we are servicing many more women because of that vision of being able to grow and being able to help the community and so that's incredible.
Speaker 1:First of all, uh, the work just across the spectrum that you're doing, and so mentorship. You know we've talked about a lot of different aspects, but in terms of mentorship, what role does mentorship play in your work at LEAP?
Speaker 2:Very important and, just to give you an example, our executive director started with us as a mentor. Ok, she, she, she said yes when we asked her to be a mentor and she mentor one of our graduates, which, by the way, that graduate now sits on our board. Graduate now sits on our board and because of that experience that she had, she became more involved in the organization and is now leading the organization as our executive director. So mentorship is key and you know what, george? It's not only key for the, for the we call the ladies that go through our program leapers.
Speaker 2:Mentorship is not only important for the leaper, it's also important for the mentor, because the mentor is beginning to see how the prison system works and is able to see the importance of rehabilitation versus just punishment. So it's changing. It works on both sides the fact that the mentor can understand what the issues are and why these women are in prison. Because about 84% of the women that are incarcerated have suffered some sort of domestic violence or rape or some trauma in their lives. So they're there because of the unfortunate, of being unfortunate, that they were born into a dysfunctional family or something happened during their journey that affected the decisions that they took.
Speaker 1:And so, gemma, what are the most rewarding aspects of your work with LEAP? You've talked about so much, but what is it? What is that? Maybe one or two rewards, or the reward that motivates you, each and every day, to do more with LEAP?
Speaker 2:For me, george is seeing the change in the ladies it is. I cannot tell you, and I have to tell you all the work would have been worth it if it had just been for one person, but it's been for hundreds of persons. For me to get phone calls, even from ladies that graduated from our first few class and tell me hey, we're doing great. You know, we've been out now for so many years and we're doing great. That to me is the greatest reward. But the next reward for me is the fact that I have changed as a person. As I said before, I always say I grew up in a bubble, I wasn't exposed to any of this and as such, you know, you don't realize what some of the difficulties that other people can have. So for me I have changed as a person. I consider myself today more compassionate and, above all, a less judgmental person.
Speaker 1:That's so profound to hear from you, jenna, and it's a testament to your leadership right in the work that you've done and seen and are doing and will continue to do. And that leads us to the next chapter what are the next big milestones for your work at LEAP?
Speaker 2:I think for us it's proven that our work, that our program, works. They can replicate what we're doing and thus change the recidivism in our country, because it's very, very high and our numbers show that it does work. I mean, our recidivism is in the single digit. So if we can bring this to others, it would be a great thing. We can bring this to others. It would be a great thing Also if we can continue growing here what I said before really integrating the community more and more every day, integrating employers that can change the way that they think about people that are coming out, especially people that are coming out that have received programs like ours, and the fact that they can also be very productive citizens.
Speaker 1:Thank you, that's right, and so, as we close this interview, gemma, what is a way that our global audience can find out more information about your work at LEAP?
Speaker 2:One more thing that I want to say, george. It's so important and I'm so glad that we have been able to receive this award from AARP, but I want to say that the contribution of people that are retired has been enormous in our institution. We just to give you an example we are grant writers. We spend all the time writing grants because for nonprofit it's never easy to have access to funding. The three grant writers that we have are retired lawyers. They do the work for us for free. This would cost us thousands and thousands of dollars. This would cost us thousands and thousands of dollars, and their contribution is just very, very valuable for us. So I want to say that retired people have really a lot to give. Also, our program makes a big difference for people over 50 that are in prison. For those people, it's very difficult when they get out to be hired. We have a number of graduates. We specifically have one graduate who was released after 55. She came to live in our house. She is now the director of our reentry center.