Resilience Education appoints Ken Oliver, Terri Tierney Clark, and Tony Morales to its Board of Directors
Charlottesville, VA | Resilience Education has appointed three distinguished leaders to its Board of Directors:
Ken Oliver, Chief Innovation Officer at The Just Trust
Terri Tierney Clark, Founder of Summit Leadership Advisors
Tony Morales, Chief Executive Officer at Elixir General
With expertise in justice reform, finance, and education, their addition to the Board presents a significant opportunity for Resilience to make strides towards its mission to break cycles of incarceration with high-quality education programs.
Ken Oliver
Ken Oliver has dedicated his career to advancing systemic change and developing innovative programs for justice-impacted individuals. As Chief Innovation Officer at The Just Trust, he has led various initiatives to foster equity in the justice system. This includes new programs such as the Justice and Upward Mobility Project (JUMP) led by Larry Miller, chairman of the Jordan Brand at Nike, which aims to create education and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people.
After serving nearly 24 years in prison—nine of which were spent in solitary confinement for reading a book—Oliver successfully litigated a historic civil rights lawsuit against the State of California, which led to his release in 2019. He has since held roles in policy advocacy and nonprofit leadership. As VP of Corporate Social Responsibility at Checkr, Oliver advocated for recruiting and retaining untapped talent through apprenticeship programs and launched Checkr’s fair chance apprenticeship program to develop career pathways for justice-impacted people.
Oliver also co-founded and took on the role of Executive Director of CROP Organization in 2020, securing a landmark $28.5 million from the State of California for the nonprofit to build the nation’s first residentially based tech training campus for justice-impacted individuals. Oliver’s commitment to ensuring returning citizens can get into roles that utilize the skills and knowledge they gain from education programs, paired with his perspective as a justice reform expert, will be invaluable as Resilience works to increase its impact.
Terri Tierney Clark
Terri Tierney Clark joins the board with extensive experience in finance and leadership development. She was a founding member of Merrill Lynch & Co.’s private equity institutional fundraising business. During her tenure, she developed and led the real estate private equity placement business into the largest of its kind in the industry and pioneered Merrill Lynch’s Latin American equity placement business.
Added to her corporate achievements, Clark founded Summit Leadership Advisors and wrote the Amazon #1 Bestseller Learn, Work, Lead: Things Your Mentor Won’t Tell You, notably recognized by the Financial Times as a “Readers’ Favorite Book.” Clark has shared her knowledge in articles published in Forbes, Newsweek, and Business Insider, as well as keynotes delivered at various corporations and universities.
In 2017, Clark founded a non-profit coding school in Maine, which offered a tuition-free opportunity for economically disadvantaged students to learn new software and career development skills. Clark serves on the Advisory Council of American Corporate Partners (a non-profit group that connects veterans with corporate mentors) as well as a Trustee at The Jefferson Trust at the University of Virginia. Her experience in leadership and professional development will strengthen Resilience Education’s ability to scale its programs.
Tony Morales
From lecturing at the Wharton School and teaching in prison to founding education services, Tony Morales has a broad range of experience. In 2010, he co-founded Academica Virtual Education, a digital education enterprise. He has since been named Forbes “30 Under 30 in Education” for co-founding Prepory alongside Daniel Santos. Prepory was a response to challenges the duo faced as first-generation college applicants; it has served over 10,000 students and helped hundreds of low-income students on a pro-bono basis.
As a Lecturer at the Wharton School, he taught undergraduates and executives how to create and sustain high-performing organizations. In addition, he worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Career Services Office at the University of Pennsylvania. Having volunteered as a counselor at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Morales developed a thorough understanding of the obstacles levied on incarcerated people. These insights into the higher education landscape and federal law enforcement will strengthen Resilience’s ability to expand its programs and form new partnerships.
At present, Morales is the CEO of Elixir General, scaling businesses across multiple industries. His dedication to increasing access to education and business acumen will help advance Resilience’s strategic goals moving forward.
Leadership Reflections
“As the Board Chair for the last three years, I have enjoyed seeing our organization and impact grow. These added exceptional board members bring a new set of expertise that will help us advance education access for formerly incarcerated people. We're excited to see where we can go from there in the coming years,” said Gerard Robinson, Board Chair of Resilience Education.
“I’m thrilled to bring on Ken, Terri, and Tony to support the growth and governance of Resilience at this important moment in our organization’s history. With their national breadth and accomplishments, we know our work and those we serve will benefit greatly by their service,” said Tierney Fairchild, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Resilience Education.
As Resilience Education continues to grow, the insights and leadership of its newest board members will help drive its commitment to equipping formerly incarcerated individuals with the social capital and resources needed to build meaningful careers.
About Resilience Education:
Resilience Education is a non-profit organization focused on breaking the cycle of incarceration by improving the economic mobility of formerly incarcerated individuals through high-quality business education and post-release support. By partnering with correctional facilities, academic institutions, and private sector allies, Resilience Education empowers formerly incarcerated individuals to excel in the workforce. For more information, visit www.resilience-education.org.
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