Building Empathy and Opportunity: Reimagining Human Resources for Fair Chance Employment As someone whose lived experience intersects with neurodivergence, the LGBTQ+ community, and involvement in the justice system earlier in life, I’ve come to understand that reentry into the workforce and the community is not just about second chances. It’s about healing, dignity, agency and rehumanizing systems that too often reduce people to their past mistakes and sorts people into categories of good and bad. My passion lies in evolving human resources and organizational culture so that we stop seeing justice-involved individuals as risks, and start seeing them as resilient, skilled, and deeply worthy of investment and opportunity. To build a more empathetic and understanding global community, I use my voice, experience, and platforms to educate employers on trauma-informed, reciprocal relationships. For those returning from incarceration, employment isn’t only a job, its stability, purpose, and a connection to society. And for employers, engaging this talent pool requires more than compliance checklists, gatekeeping and risk management. It demands cultural humility, psychological safety, and a willingness to change outdated narratives. I guide leaders and organizations in developing practices that recognize the complex trauma many justice-involved individuals carry, not just from incarceration, but from the systemic inequities that often led them there. I help companies shift from transactional hiring to relational onboarding: from background checks as barriers to storytelling as bridges. I imagine workshops, strategic advisement, and curriculum development, that support frameworks and workplace culture that foster accountability without shame, support without pity, and structure without surveillance or gauntlets meant to exclude. My views are not exclusive to justice-impacted individuals. It’s about all of us. A workforce that embraces fair chance hiring strengthens its own emotional intelligence, agility and resilience. Not to mention an ever-growing demand and competition for talent. An HR team that leads with empathy and connection builds trust with every employee and fosters engagement. A community that welcomes people home helps prevent recidivism, poverty, and cycles of harm. Fair chance isn’t charity; it’s talent strategy. And it’s humanity. My talents lie in my ability to connect across differences, to build bridges between heart and policy, and to translate complexity into action. Whether I’m speaking from a stage, facilitating a workshop, or consulting with a team, I approach every engagement with emotional intelligence, authenticity, and a respect for the lived wisdom and agency that people carry, especially those who’ve survived systems meant to break them. We don’t need to fix people who’ve been incarcerated. We need to fix the systems that exclude them. I believe HR and employers are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation, not just by opening doors, but by creating cultures that hold them open. My purpose is to make sure we do just that, with courage, compassion, and commitment.