Resilience Education and Virginia Commonwealth University da Vinci Center for Innovation Join Forces to Empower Formerly Incarcerated to Become Entrepreneurs
[Charlottesville, July 27, 2023] – With the aim of supporting formerly incarcerated learners seeking to start or manage small companies, Resilience Education and the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) da Vinci Center for Innovation are forming a strategic partnership.
Both organizations believe that everyone deserves a second chance. They know that entrepreneurship can be a pathway to personal growth, economic mobility, and community development.
Resilience Education provides business education and post-release support for justice-impacted individuals. The nonprofit currently brings business education to incarcerated learners through partnerships with the business schools at UVA Darden, Wharton, and Columbia.
VCU’s da Vinci Center for Innovation advances the human condition through cross-disciplinary academic, experiential, and experiential learning opportunities for their student body.
The joint program will provide formerly incarcerated learners with practical skills, knowledge, and industry-specific expertise necessary to thrive in today's competitive business landscape. They’ll also be connected to Resilience Education’s post-release digital platform that connects formerly incarcerated people with a vast business network to support career goals.
The VCU da Vinci Center will provide micro-credentials, designed to provide flexible learning opportunities for justice-impacted individuals, allowing them to acquire expertise in a specific area of study. Participants will have access to live office hours hosted by a da Vinci Center graduate student. Those who successfully complete micro-credentials will earn digital badges to document and share their achievements. Topics covered will include business planning, marketing strategies, financial management, and ethical leadership.
“Resilience is incredibly excited to partner with VCU da Vinci Center to support formerly incarcerated professionals in realizing their dream of entrepreneurship,” said Tierney Fairchild, Ph.D, Founder and Executive Director of Resilience Education. “We have VCU alumni on our staff and board and their contributions reflect VCU’s commitment to diversity and inclusion through innovation. We look forward to the future success of all of the participants in this program.”
“Our team at the VCU da Vinci Center is inspired by the support Resilience Education provides to formerly incarcerated innovators and entrepreneurs. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with them in effort to continue to build a more inclusive and innovative ecosystem through community partnership.” -Garret Westlake, PhD Associate Vice Provost in Innovation, Executive Director of the da Vinci Center for Innovation, and faculty at VCU School of Business.
Both organizations believe that everyone deserves a second chance and that entrepreneurship can be a pathway to personal growth, economic mobility, and community development. By combining their resources and expertise, Resilience Education and the VCU da Vinci Center aim to create opportunities for formerly incarcerated professionals to develop skills to build stable and fulfilling lives and careers for themselves and their families.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Resilience Education Contact: Jessica Turner, Program Coordinator Email: jessica@resilience-education.org
About Resilience Education: Resilience Education is a nonprofit organization that partners with business schools across the United States to deliver business curricula to incarcerated learners and support their careers post-release through the Resilient Professional Community (RPC). The RPC is an online platform to connect formerly incarcerated individuals to the people and resources that will form pathways to upward economic mobility. For more information, visit www.resilience-education.org.
About VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation: The da Vinci Center for Innovation is prototyping the future of higher education through cross-disciplinary academic, experiential, and experimental learning opportunities. The academic and experiential offerings of the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation aim to create T-shaped individuals who are anchored in a discipline and have the capacity and openness to span across disciplines.