Our speakers are a diverse and compelling group of individuals, ranging from our esteemed leadership team to TLM-trained alumni who have successfully reintegrated into society. Each one of them possesses a magnetic presence that captivates audiences and delivers a powerful message. Beverly Parenti Chief Operating Officer | The Last Mile Beverly Parenti is a serial entrepreneur, specializing in the advancement of innovative technologies. Along with longtime business partner and husband, Chris Redlitz, she launched their nonprofit, The Last Mile (TLM) in 2010 at San Quentin State Prison. The goal of TLM is to provide education and training inside prison, resulting in gainful employment for returned citizen graduates, thereby reducing recidivism. TLM has become one of the most requested prison education programs in the United States. It is the first program to offer a computer programming curriculum that teaches men and women to become software engineers. All TLM “Returned Citizen Graduates” are prospering personally and professionally with 0% recidivism. Topics Criminal Justice Reform Fair Chance Hiring Legislative Policy Entrepreneurship Ken Oliver Board of Directors | The Last Mile Ken Oliver is the VP of Checkr.org and Executive Director of the Checkr Foundation. Checkr.org was formed to operationalize Checkr’s Pledge 1% commitments and social impact initiatives. Ken’s remarkable journey started in 1996 when he was sentenced to 52 years to life in prison under California’s three-strikes law for “joyriding” as a passenger in a stolen car. He spent close to 24 years in prison, 8 of them in solitary confinement, for reading a book written by a former member of the Black Panther Party. With the support of Stanford University and the Corporate law firm Mayer Brown, Ken won a civil rights lawsuit against the state resulting in a monetary settlement and his release from prison in 2019. In 2020, Ken became a co-founder and the Executive Director of a nonprofit reentry organization created to provide justice-impacted people with meaningful pathways into the technology and knowledge-based economy. Topics Criminal Justice Reform Fair Chance Hiring Legislative Policy Chris Redlitz Executive Director | The Last Mile Chris Redlitz is the Managing Partner of Transmedia Capital, one of the best-performing micro funds in Silicon Valley, focused on early-stage digital media and commerce platforms. Chris has worked with many aspiring entrepreneurs through KickLabs, one of the country’s leading technology accelerators he co-founded in 2009. He received Ad Age’s prestigious i20 award for his contributions to the development of interactive marketing and advertising. Earlier in his career, Chris was part of Reebok’s explosive growth where he held positions in sales and marketing and also owned one of the first specialty sports retail chains in Southern California. For over twenty years, Chris was a distance runner completing marathons and ultra marathons. Today he is an avid cyclist and health advocate. Topics Criminal Justice Reform Fair Chance Hiring Legislative Policy Entrepreneurship Kevin McCracken Chief Growth Officer | The Last Mile Kevin brings a wealth of knowledge and energy to the TLM team. He has been an advocate of fair chance employment for 23 years and a volunteer in San Quentin State Prison for 8 Years, most recently as the ED of Prison2 Employment Connection (Prison2EC.org). Kevin is leading the expansion of our hiring partner network, working with the TLM Reentry team to increase services and community engagement and he will be developing new TLM business enterprises to provide career pathways for program participants. His passion for helping his fellow human beings is infectious. Kevin is the co-founder of Social Imprints, one of the most successful Social Enterprises in the country. Kevin is excited to bring his experience and dedication to The Last Mile and help propel our mission across the country. “I am very grateful for this opportunity to change the world.” Topics Criminal Justice Reform Fair Chance Hiring Legislative Policy Entrepreneurship Shaka Senghor Shaka has gone from a life on the streets, to solitary confinement, to a best-selling author. But this transformation didn’t happen by accident. It was purposeful and required introspection and work. Topics Criminal Justice Reform Fair Chance Hiring Legislative Policy Entrepreneurship Eric Abercrombie aka Maserati-E TLM Radio Host Eric Abercrombie (also known as Maserati-E) was born in Oakland Ca. He was featured in the Emmy-nominated Documentary “Q-Ball”. Eric also is formerly incarcerated, he learned sound design and film while incarcerated. Eric plans to show the world how people are not defined by their past mistakes or conditions and give a glimpse of what could be accomplished if afforded the opportunity. Eric plans to change the world by changing the way we view the world. Topics Criminal Justice Reform Zach Moore TLM Alumni Zach Moore is a software engineer at Checkr, a tech company based in San Francisco. Incarcerated at the age of 15, he spent the next 22 years of incarceration attaining an Associates degree and learning to code via The Last Mile program. Upon his release in 2018, he worked as a software developer for TLM before landing an internship at Checkr, and eventually converted to a full-time software engineer. He considers himself an ambassador for those currently and previously incarcerated, and looks for ways to increase opportunity and equity in Tech. Topics Criminal Justice Reform Tulio Cardozo IT Manager IT Manager, Tulio Cardozo, works with The Last Mile to support the student and staff’s experience as it relates to technology across TLM’s learning services, proprietary network, and physical device infrastructure spanning three timezones. Tulio’s career with The Last Mile initially started eight years ago as a founding graduate of The Last Mile Entrepreneurship Program. After serving seven years in state prison, Tulio has successfully transitioned into a technology career in San Francisco, CA. Aside from The Last Mile, Tulio has worked as a business analyst for technology accelerator, KickLabs, mastered WordPress as an independent contractor, lead engineering and development at Launch Podium (a tech startup in San Francisco), and has taught Web Design and Coding through Five Keys Charter School, to residents of the San Francisco County Jail and the San Francisco Adult Probation Department. Topics Criminal Justice Reform Fair Chance Hiring Entrepreneurship