Defy of Northern California

Defy of Northern California uses entrepreneurship as a tool to break down barriers and create career opportunities for people with criminal histories. In prison, Defy’s rigorous curriculum, CEO of Your New Life, provides incarcerated individuals practical skills for reentry through entrepreneurship training, employment readiness and personal development. We amplify the impact of our curriculum by connecting program participants, Entrepreneurs-in-Training (EITs), with Bay Area business leaders. Volunteers provide vital professional and personal support that sparks the confidence and inspiration for EITs to realize their potential, and EITs provide volunteers with a new perspective on people with criminal histories. From this transformational experience, a community of mutual respect is born. When Defy graduates return home, Defy’s Career Accelerator capitalizes on community support to facilitate career opportunities for EITs. Catch a glimpse of Defy’s work in this video.

More than 560 incarcerated individuals have completed Defy’s program in prisons throughout Northern California and fewer than 5% of Defy graduates have recidivated. Over 1,300 volunteers from companies including Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Apple, Lyft, and Checkr have engaged with EITs.