[NEW EPISODE] Education Beyond the Walls

Fridays 10:00am - 11:00am (EDT)

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EPISODE SUMMARY:

The audience will get a better understanding of the importance of adult education for those individuals traveling through our criminal legal systems. People will listen because there are over 113 million people in our country that have a criminal history or know someone that does. Helping people navigate the next chapters of their lives through education and skill training can (and will) change the face of our criminal justice system.

Jeffrey Abramowitz, J.D. is the Chief Executive Officer of the Petey Greene Program and the Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice. Jeff is the past Executive Director of Justice Partnerships and Executive Director Reentry Services for JEVS Human Services and the founder and Program Director of Looking Forward Philadelphia Reentry Program. Jeff previously served on the Board of the Coalition on Adult Basic Education, COABE, where he served as Secretary, and currently Co-chairs the State Advocates for Adult Education Fellowship Program and is Chair of the Public Policy Committee. Jeff was appointed to the Pennsylvania Reentry Council and serves as Chairman of the Employment Committee and past co-chair of the Reentry Committee for the PA Workforce Development Board and served as the past Chair of the Philadelphia Reentry Coalition. Jeff is also a member of the Fair Chance Business Consortium and Vice-Chair of Philly Truce Foundation. Jeff is a subject matter expert for the US Department of Education, is the Moderator for US Department of Education LINCS Community of Practice on Correctional & Reentry Education and works on the IET in Corrections project for OCTAE.  Jeff sits on several organizational boards and centers his work in the intersection of adult education, workforce development, and justice. Jeff is the producer and host of the award-winning weekly radio/television show “The Looking Forward” on Philly Cam Radio WPPM 106.5FM and PhillyCam TV (Live Streaming; Xfinity 66/966; Fios TV 29/30; Roku; Apple TV) and Co-Host/Producer of the Behind Every Employer Podcast.  Jeff is a recognized keynote speaker and presenter across the country.

www.GivingVoiceToValuesTheBook.com

#PhilanthropyInPhocus #PeteyGreeneProgram #EducationInPrison #JusticeReform #ReentrySupport #SecondChances #WorkforceDevelopment #TommyDiMisa

Tune in for this sensible conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Show Notes

‍Segment 1

On this episode of Philanthropy in Phocus, host Tommy DiMisa highlights his week of nonprofit connections, including a visit to Long Island Lending a Helping Hand and a Rotary Club event where he learned about Blessings in a Backpack, a program quietly providing meals to food-insecure children. His guest, Jeffrey Abramowitz, shares his deeply personal story of transformation—from a successful attorney who served five years in federal prison to a passionate advocate for second chances and education for incarcerated individuals. With humility and accountability, Jeffrey reflects on how his incarceration opened his eyes to systemic injustice and the value of listening, ultimately leading to his work with the Petey Greene Program, which provides educational opportunities for people in prison.

Segment 2

In this segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy D and guest Jeffrey Abramowitz dive deep into the need for supporting individuals reentering society after incarceration—especially through education, career guidance, and compassion. Jeffrey shares his personal journey from homelessness and prison to becoming an educator and CEO of the Petey Greene Program, highlighting how helping people build literacy, digital skills, and confidence leads to long-term change. For nonprofits and their supporters, the key message is clear: ask the right questions, be curious instead of judgmental, and create sustainable solutions that empower second chances and transform lives.

Segment 3

In this segment, Jeffrey Abramowitz shares the inspiring impact of the Petey Greene Program, which brings one-on-one tutoring to incarcerated individuals using trained college student volunteers—helping reduce recidivism by 43% for those who take just one class. He emphasizes that true reentry success comes from addressing real-world barriers—like access to ID, digital literacy, and financial systems—while advocating for education that leads not just to jobs, but sustainable careers, including in trades. For nonprofits and supporters, this is a call to be more compassionate and curious, to ask better questions, and to actively support second chances through education, empathy, and action.

‍Segment 4

In this final segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Jeffrey Abramowitz highlights how the Petey Greene Program is expanding nationally—bringing one-on-one tutoring to incarcerated individuals and launching initiatives like the Puckkammer Center to deepen educational equity and workforce development. He emphasizes that hiring individuals with criminal records is not just a second chance—it's a smart, inclusive strategy for employers, and college students involved as tutors are transformed by seeing firsthand the humanity and potential of those they support. Jeffrey shares a touching story of a formerly incarcerated grandmother now pursuing a master’s degree, with her proud granddaughter by her side—a powerful reminder of how education can change not just one life, but generations.

Transcript

00:00:46.350 --> 00:00:46.860 Tommy DiMisa: Back.

00:00:46.860 --> 00:00:48.389 Tommy DiMisa: We are back.

00:00:48.390 --> 00:00:56.530 Tommy DiMisa: I made the trek 2 flights up from the kitchen. You know where I get my coffee just below the roof of the house. I'm in my attic. Tommy D, the nonprofit Sector

00:00:56.730 --> 00:01:12.569 Tommy DiMisa: connector show is philanthropy and focus. I have been out there on the front lines connecting with nonprofits all week. Maybe we'll get into some of those stories all right. I guess we will right quick before we even get into the show. Just yesterday I stopped by an organization called Long Island, lending a helping hand.

00:01:12.570 --> 00:01:36.289 Tommy DiMisa: which is a thrift shop that is, raising money and bringing food and clothing to people in need here on Long Island, you know, when I get to go out I just continue to meet people in my travels. I got to speak yesterday at the Ron Concoma Rotary Club. They asked me to speak about nonprofits and philanthropy, and I got to tell you, as I listened before I spoke at the Rotary Club yesterday, shout out to John Amarati from blessings in a backpack.

00:01:36.290 --> 00:01:43.050 Tommy DiMisa: along with blessings in a backpack and blessings of Long Island, which is where this organization helps young people

00:01:43.070 --> 00:01:48.780 Tommy DiMisa: who are food insecure get access to food going into the weekends. So the teachers

00:01:48.960 --> 00:02:06.300 Tommy DiMisa: very quietly pack the children's backpack to go home, so nobody knows anybody's business, but they are serving or sending home rather 500 meals with 500 students each weekend, and I think the number I heard yesterday was 65,000 young people on Long Island are food insecure.

00:02:06.650 --> 00:02:30.620 Tommy DiMisa: What are we doing? What are we doing? That's not what the topic of the show is today. But what exactly are we doing right? What are we doing on this planet? What are we doing in this country? What are we doing on this island? We need to find love and compassion for each other when I'm at this thing in Ronk Concument, though in front of the Rotary Club. They want me to talk about giving back in nonprofits. And I watched these 30 people talk about way before I got in front of the room about how much they're giving back. And I've said to them, I basically.

00:02:30.620 --> 00:02:46.690 Tommy DiMisa: I said, I almost have nothing to say. But I am Tommy d, so I could still go on for 15 min. But I said, I almost have nothing to say, because you're talking about. There's a meeting tonight that you're going to that. You didn't expect half of you folks are talking about. You worked in the soup kitchen last night on behalf of rotary, which I will be out there on a Wednesday evening

00:02:46.690 --> 00:03:02.550 Tommy DiMisa: volunteering with the folks, and I don't know, man, that's what makes me keep going is meeting more and more people who are doing the good work and talk about more and more people who are doing good. I say incredible, although I got to strike that word because incredible really means it's not believable.

00:03:02.630 --> 00:03:25.479 Tommy DiMisa: But this stuff is believable. So let's go with fantastic. That's my new word. Fantastic, you know, that's like a thing my mom used to spray when she was cleaning the house. Fantastic. It was like a windex thing. All right. Stop, Tommy D. Bring it back, Jeffrey Abramowitz is here, CEO, of the Pd. Green program. We're going to go into his bio and everything like that. But I'm talking about fantastic people in a fantastic organization, Sir, how are you this morning? What's going on

00:03:25.480 --> 00:03:27.780 Jeffrey Abramowitz: I am. Well, how are you, Tommy? Good to see you

00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:51.110 Tommy DiMisa: Good to see you, man. I got to make a quick shout out because I call myself the nonprofit Sector Connector. But if it was not for Gamal Willis of avenues for justice. Introducing me to Anna Erickson, shout out to my friend Anna, we're only friends for like 2 months, but we meet every other week, and we're connecting, and she goes. 1st time we met she told me how important social justice was, and maybe the second time we met. She's like.

00:03:51.110 --> 00:04:09.220 Tommy DiMisa: can I? Would it be cool with you if I introduce you to Jeffrey Abramowicz? I want to talk. I want you and him to talk about the Pd green program. And I'm like Dude. That's what it's about. It's all about the connection. I might know a lot of people depending on the rooms I walk into. People go. Oh, Tommy, D. Knows everybody. No.

00:04:09.220 --> 00:04:31.190 Tommy DiMisa: I know about 400 people right? So that seems like a lot. If you go into the same rooms like if you go into the same rooms all the time, Jeff, that's what it's like. Oh, everybody knows Tommy D. But when I go into. There's like 8 million people on Long Island. So maybe more than 400 people know who I am. But I don't know that many people. But anyway, point of the matter is, if it's not for friends like Anna Erickson and one ripple back, friends like

00:04:31.190 --> 00:04:42.510 Tommy DiMisa: Gamal Willis over at avenues for justice. Shout out to the team in avenues for justice. Angel Rodriguez, lower East Side, forms that organization. When I was told the Lower East side of New York City was a war zone.

00:04:42.510 --> 00:04:50.340 Tommy DiMisa: and may help young people with alternatives to incarceration. Some of the stuff that's adjacent and or connected to work. We're going to talk about today, but

00:04:50.340 --> 00:05:13.300 Tommy DiMisa: you know, and if I don't meet I don't meet Angel Rodriguez. If it's not for the New York City. Imagine awards! And he's a finalist in the Imagine awards so I could follow these ripples back. And, Jeff, I don't meet you if I don't meet Angel, and I don't meet Ken Serini 15 years ago from the imagine awards! That's how I believe it all goes, man, so I'm sure you can trace back some ripples in your own world. I know you're traveling right now on behalf of one of the organizations

00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:19.790 Tommy DiMisa: that you serve as a board member. So you probably maybe you know more than 400 people. Maybe everybody knows Jeff. I don't know

00:05:20.050 --> 00:05:22.330 Jeffrey Abramowitz: You'd be surprised, man, you'd be surprised

00:05:22.330 --> 00:05:33.660 Tommy DiMisa: I would I would be surprised. Man, I told you I have your background and your well, which I'll hit into certain points in the show. But really I want to hear your story. You know. I want to hear

00:05:33.780 --> 00:05:39.820 Tommy DiMisa: how you got to where you are right now. I mean you're are you a Philly guy originally? I know you were in Philly. We're working

00:05:39.820 --> 00:05:56.699 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah. Born and bred man, born and bred in Philadelphia, grew up in Philadelphia and went to the Ohio State University for undergrad, and then went out to to Michigan for law school, and always. Since my, I was a kid I always wanted to be a lawyer

00:05:56.740 --> 00:06:21.180 Jeffrey Abramowitz: like I was just. I love the courtroom. I just I couldn't imagine, you know, living life without being in a courtroom and being in front of people, and and I did that most of my professional life was a lawyer in Philadelphia, a senior partner in a law firm, and love being in the courtroom, not so much, being a lawyer, but love being in the courtroom, and and then around 14 years ago, I made some bad choices.

00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:31.520 Jeffrey Abramowitz: so I can't say that I've always been kind of very aware of words and the use of words, but when I say I made choices I don't believe people make mistakes

00:06:31.930 --> 00:06:49.309 Jeffrey Abramowitz: think that we all make choices in life, and those choices don't always work out so well, and Einstein has a great line. He says, if you make 10 bad choices a day. You're just not trying hard enough, because Einstein believe that you did things you didn't do them so well. And then that's how you learn. You did them again over and over, and you got better at it.

00:06:49.310 --> 00:07:04.029 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And so I made some choices in life that ended up handing me a Federal indictment, and I was standing in a courtroom in March of 2012, for the 1st time in my life as a defendant in a case, and I was sentenced to 5 years in a Federal prison.

00:07:04.610 --> 00:07:31.190 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So yeah, life, man hits you hard. And and all of a sudden I'm sitting back in a holding cell because I was taken from the courtroom and sitting in a holding cell after I was taken from the courtroom, and I remember I was Buck naked. They got no clothes on, and they're trying to find a jumpsuit for me. And and I remember thinking 2 things. One was figuring out why this happened so it never happened again, like I never wanted to experience this again.

00:07:31.190 --> 00:07:44.699 Jeffrey Abramowitz: But the second thing was like, what is what was the message like, what was I supposed to be learning here and trying to figure out what my next step was gonna be like? What was? There's some something was trying to tell me something, and I needed to figure it out.

00:07:44.700 --> 00:08:09.399 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So yeah, so it was like this crazy kind of feeling where that the next morning I woke up. You don't really sleep the 1st night in prison, and my cellmate was somebody serving a double life term for for murder. And and all of a sudden I'm like, Oh, my gosh! What the heck am I doing here? And I walked out my cell, and there's a line of men there, and they all had their paperwork.

00:08:09.400 --> 00:08:17.360 Jeffrey Abramowitz: They had seen my case on the news tonight before, and they thought that the law firm inside the prison was gonna open. It was like Christmas in prison.

00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:23.160 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, oh, they had their paperwork! Oh, cause the attorneys here now, that's what they don't

00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:29.500 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Paperwork. They're like, Oh, man, we got an attorney here now. We don't have to worry about reaching our lawyer. We got one right in house

00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:30.350 Tommy DiMisa: Wow!

00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:46.120 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So I did not become a jailhouse lawyer. It was not something I was looking forward to doing, and and so I didn't. But I did help some guys here and there where I could or guide them the right way. And and then the journey began where I just became this sponge. I

00:08:46.480 --> 00:09:09.330 Jeffrey Abramowitz: needed to learn everything. I I learned everything from the guys that were around me, read over a thousand books. I practiced every religion that was in prison that you possibly could. I learned how to drive a forklift and do all these crazy things that that a lawyer probably never gets to experience in his lifetime. So yeah, so we're off to the races. And my second mountain began

00:09:09.330 --> 00:09:22.520 Tommy DiMisa: Wow! Second Mountain, we'll talk about that. I just so you said, where most lawyers don't get the experience. I think most human beings don't get it. Get to experience what you're talking about while you were on the inside. I mean, you know.

00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:24.679 Tommy DiMisa: I think you know.

00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:33.440 Tommy DiMisa: I feel like I want to point this out. I bring up this other show. I do, called Hashtag, ending the stigma together, and that show which I think I mentioned you is really about ending the stigma.

00:09:33.720 --> 00:09:47.439 Tommy DiMisa: as it relates to serious and persistent mental illness and mental health in general is the way I like to say it. However, I find that there's there's so much stigma attached to so many different things that I end up in conversations where it's like.

00:09:47.970 --> 00:09:49.370 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, you.

00:09:49.710 --> 00:09:58.409 Tommy DiMisa: Mr. Mrs. New individual in my life need to come on ending the stigma as it relates to people living with HIV and Aids, or you need to come as right so, or incarceration. So

00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:03.580 Tommy DiMisa: there's so much I'm projecting the feelings of

00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:13.559 Tommy DiMisa: holy cow man. You got to be scared like that. You said you're buck naked in a holding cell. And now you're going in the prison. And most people have not experienced that.

00:10:14.030 --> 00:10:19.580 Tommy DiMisa: But most people have seen a lot of TV shows and movies and things like that. So fear must be setting in. I guess

00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:34.049 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So. So I thought that, too. Yeah, I think it's fear. But I think it's survival like you just kick into this mode where you just need to learn how to survive. And and that means you're in a new environment, new culture, someplace you've never been before with people you don't know.

00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:56.570 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And it can be a really harsh environment between the guards and correctional officers and the men that you're with. So you just kick into like this survival mode where? Okay, I need to do what I gotta do. But I fortunately I was blessed because I was a lawyer and had some skill sets. I was able to get ingrained into the system pretty quickly.

00:10:56.640 --> 00:11:04.969 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and that helped a lot. Being able to be able to support people with education. I mean, I taught over 60 classes while I was away.

00:11:05.390 --> 00:11:26.110 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and did some of the things that really helped the men that I was with that show that I really cared, but I also listened. You know I wanted to learn from all of them. I wanted to learn what their challenges were. How could I help them. You know. What was it like for them? Try to understand it better, and and that that really changed my life because it was my way of understanding that you know

00:11:26.110 --> 00:11:37.399 Jeffrey Abramowitz: they say God gave you one mouth and 2 ears, you know, so you could talk twice as much as you listen, and it's true, you know, for me. I wanted to learn from everybody that was around, and found some absolutely remarkable talented men

00:11:37.400 --> 00:11:39.300 Jeffrey Abramowitz: when I was incarcerated

00:11:39.710 --> 00:11:41.680 Tommy DiMisa: So let me ask you this. So

00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:47.742 Tommy DiMisa: we're going to get into Petey Green program. Maybe story some stories about Petey Green himself.

00:11:49.050 --> 00:11:55.089 Tommy DiMisa: was it? Did you go in when you knew? I I mean, I guess. Did you expect that

00:11:55.890 --> 00:12:00.839 Tommy DiMisa: that it, like you said you went from the courtroom to the holding cell. So

00:12:01.010 --> 00:12:05.369 Tommy DiMisa: you and your team, your your attorneys? Did you expect that you were going in that day?

00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:05.820 Jeffrey Abramowitz: No.

00:12:05.820 --> 00:12:14.119 Tommy DiMisa: You did. Okay? So so then, you so strategic and plan, maybe weren't words that we're going to put in there. So you didn't know you thought you might be coming home

00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:22.939 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Oh, no, yeah, I did not. 1st of all, I didn't think I'd get sentenced to time away. I also didn't think that I would be remanded right from the courtroom

00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:23.330 Tommy DiMisa: Right.

00:12:23.330 --> 00:12:47.980 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So there are a lot of those surprises that happen. And I'm gonna be honest with Tommy. My perspective on all this was that I was in no position to question anything that happened after the second that I made those bad choices because I opened that door up, and I think it's 1 of the big challenges people have when they do something. That's not so right is that I had to accept responsibility for that.

00:12:48.040 --> 00:13:14.169 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And anything that flowed. From the time that I opened the door and made those bad choices I was in no position to really question, and in a large part it made it easier for me to accept the reality that you know I was going away, and that I went to prison. And because of just that attitude like, no matter how bad I was treated, how much injustice there was. I noticed it. I was aware of it, but I couldn't complain about it, because I made the choice that got the ball rolling.

00:13:14.560 --> 00:13:28.260 Jeffrey Abramowitz: That was my take on this whole thing, and it made a lot easier for me to accept psychologically, because there was, there was a lot of injustice that happens in our system, and you can really get you can. You can really get pretty pissed. To be honest.

00:13:28.260 --> 00:13:45.619 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, you know. So okay, so that was going to, because we'll we're going to do a break in a moment or 2 here. But that that was going to take me in a different direction. So the surprise means there wasn't a whole lot of strategy, and I love that. I don't know what the right word, and maybe you could think of it, but that is there some level of maturity

00:13:45.770 --> 00:13:58.540 Tommy DiMisa: or accountability in you saying I made the choice to, or this bad choice. Not a mistake. Right again it was a choice. And then the acceptance of everything that happened after that, you know. So

00:13:58.540 --> 00:14:27.939 Jeffrey Abramowitz: About self responsibility like we all need to have self responsibility. If you do something, you just speak up and just say I did it, man, take responsibility for it, and just acknowledge it. The good, the bad, the ugly. It doesn't matter, you know. We all have to be responsible for our actions today, and that was probably one of the biggest lessons. Look, I walked down the street today and I engage people that are that are homeless. I engage people that need support, that are, you know, having addiction issues or homelessness, or whatever it is

00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:34.780 Jeffrey Abramowitz: like. It just opened my eyes to that. I'm responsible for it, and and that's the way I live my life.

00:14:34.780 --> 00:14:40.049 Tommy DiMisa: I love all this. This is so great. Jeff. I'm glad you're here. Guys, gals, everybody listening.

00:14:40.160 --> 00:15:02.739 Tommy DiMisa: boys and girls, children of all ages. What I say, ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! This is such an important topic. When we come back where I was going to go with this questioning was counselor. Next line of questioning. See, I always wanted to be an attorney, but I never wanted to go to law school, so you can figure out how that happened. So you figure out what happened there. But when we come back I want to go into this piece about

00:15:03.020 --> 00:15:19.709 Tommy DiMisa: education. You said 60 classes you were teaching and all this stuff. So you didn't go in. And that mindset I'm going to go in and be a teacher. You went in like because you were going, and that was it because you did the thing? And now you had to go. But I want to hear about when it opened up your eyes that there was this opportunity

00:15:19.820 --> 00:15:32.809 Tommy DiMisa: for education. And that's where we're going to go, because much of that is where Pd. Green is focused on Pd green program is focused on. So we're going to get into all that today, Jeff. Thanks for being here gang. We'll be back in just a moment. This is philanthropy and focus

00:17:16.540 --> 00:17:17.109 Tommy DiMisa: Right

00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:46.899 Tommy DiMisa: in the attic. You know the nonprofits. They need the connections right? Look at that. I wrote that song, Brendan Levy and I wrote that song together, although apparently he has a better singing voice than I do. But if you want, you know, hit me up on Instagram, Tommy, d Dot, Nyc. And say, Tommy, we would like if you sang more on your show. We love to hear your voice, Tommy. D. Don't listen to those haters all right. So with me. Jeffrey Abramowicz, Jd. Chief Executive Officer of the Pre Degree Program, and the Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice.

00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:54.630 Tommy DiMisa: Past Executive Director of Justice, partnerships and executive director of the reentry services for Jevs human services

00:17:54.630 --> 00:18:17.900 Tommy DiMisa: and founder and program director of looking forward Philadelphia Reentry program. We talked about your you and I kind of talked about it before the coalition before the show coalition on adult basic education. I want to talk a bit about that. And then some of the stuff you're appointed as Pennsylvania Reentry Council, and you serve as a chairman for the Employment Committee of Past co-chair of the Reentry

00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:38.860 Tommy DiMisa: Committee of PA workforce development on and on, and I don't mean to say those things are not important, but I want to hear more from you like I said before, not from me. But the stuff I want to just hit on is it producer and host of the award-winning weekly radio show, which is called The looking forward on Philly cam radio. And then also, there's another show right on the what's what's the other show

00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:54.200 Jeffrey Abramowitz: It's called behind every employer with Anson Green from Tyson foods, and it looks at employment getting people back to work. And what we all need to know, be thinking of as we get people not only into careers but sustainable careers.

00:18:54.200 --> 00:19:16.479 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah. And and you know what? It's got to shout out my team vanguard benefits because employees matter. You know, we talk about benefit strategies talk about attracting, retaining talent, and it just feels like anytime. Somebody talks about attracting and retaining and sustaining employment and things like that. You know, one of the things I think is so important is to talk about how to get our veterans back to work when they when they return from military service, and certainly

00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:30.529 Tommy DiMisa: gang. Here he goes! Here comes the soapbox. How do we not support people who are coming out of being incarcerated to get them back on track, give them and empower them and give them the opportunity to get back on track. Because if we don't, what is the outcome?

00:19:30.790 --> 00:19:33.719 Tommy DiMisa: Right? What is the outcome. Jeff, I mean, maybe you want to play with

00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:39.810 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah, no, for sure. So we have roughly 80 to a hundred 1 million people in our country that have a criminal background.

00:19:40.010 --> 00:20:02.669 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And the truth is that 95 plus percent are coming home at some point in time when they get incarcerated. So if we don't help people navigate, what happens behind the walls and prepare them for their next journey, their next life. Then what do we really think is going to happen? They're going to continue to go around and round and round into our justice systems in and out. So we need to be thinking about how we help people. And that was what motivated me

00:20:02.670 --> 00:20:20.750 Jeffrey Abramowitz: when I came home I was homeless, so I came home in 2015. It'll be 10 years in September, and I was living in a homeless shelter, and during that time my 1st job was walking by a place, and it said, Adult Literacy agency. I was like, What's this? And I walked in, and I got a job teaching Ged Math

00:20:20.870 --> 00:20:45.859 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and helping people learn Ged math in North Philadelphia. And what? Through this whole journey, even inside, you know teaching men about math and reading and career opportunities. That is the key. If we can get people smarter if we can get them to understand, you know how to how important math and reading and writing is, but also digital literacy skills using a computer and financial literacy skills like all those things

00:20:45.860 --> 00:20:55.410 Jeffrey Abramowitz: come together. So my definition of education is really broad. But it all started when I was away. So, Tommy, I was in prison, and I taught a Cdl class.

00:20:55.410 --> 00:21:04.769 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Now that doesn't sound too too interesting. But I had never been in the cab of a tractor trailer before, so what I found when I was away was that

00:21:05.060 --> 00:21:32.930 Jeffrey Abramowitz: there were guys inside that could drive a trailer, tractor, trailer unbelievably. Well, they've done it all their lives, but the men around them they could drive as well. They just couldn't pass the darn test. So they didn't read well enough. They didn't know math well enough. So, understanding how you bridge those gaps and how you help people inside was my where I started. And then that continued as I came home, became a direct, became a director in adult Literacy agency within a few months, being away

00:21:33.010 --> 00:21:53.100 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and then learning in a shelter. I kind of really understood what it was like to be homeless and and asking those questions. So if there's 1 takeaway for your people today, anyone listening, I want you to remember. I always quoted from Ted Lasso. But but it was actually Walt Whitman who said, we should be curious and not judgmental.

00:21:53.400 --> 00:22:17.579 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And if we work really curious about men and women that are in our justice system that are coming home. We would ask the questions, what do you need? How can we help you? What does it look like? And part of that is also understanding that they're really, you know, it's really hard for people to tell their story when they come home, but we got to get from them what they need, and it could be, I don't know. Addition. I don't know multiplication.

00:22:17.580 --> 00:22:35.849 Jeffrey Abramowitz: I don't know how to read or write or use a computer, and if we can help them do that, then we're on our way to solving some of our mass incarceration problem. I just picked this up today. I copied it because I carried around like my Bible, it's a thing called mass incarceration, the whole pie 2025.

00:22:36.210 --> 00:22:43.090 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So this is a document put out by the prison policy initiative every year, and it gives you all the data on prison.

00:22:43.110 --> 00:23:08.040 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And I every year I look forward I look forward to reading it, because I look at the numbers going down and down, and honestly in 2025. The whole pie is the 1st time in years that now our prison population is going back up. During Covid we saw this great release of people from our prisons and jails back into society, and now we're just going back into the same thing again, like, what do we need to do to learn from these lessons

00:23:08.230 --> 00:23:36.070 Jeffrey Abramowitz: that we have to do a better job educating and helping people navigate what happens when they come home. And that means getting, not just a job, but getting a career. And I want to be really intentional about that. You know, people come home and we task them to get a job. And we throw them into these jobs like, you know, fast food restaurants and work and maintenance wherever. But if people don't do what they love to do, how long do you think they're going to do it for?

00:23:36.120 --> 00:23:59.260 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And we have to get people thinking about a mindset of finding a career so they could feed their families and be sustainable. Look, I could talk all week on this topic. But the truth is, we all have to be educated. We all have to understand that the system has these flaws in it like probation and parole, and putting people on these long taglines. I call it the meek Mill syndrome. Meek Mill was the guy who came home.

00:23:59.260 --> 00:24:13.009 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and he was taking his kids to school every day, from Philadelphia into New Jersey, into Cherry Hill, New Jersey, right across the bridge, 100 5,200 yards away, and every time he took his kids into school he's taking his kids to school.

00:24:13.010 --> 00:24:20.069 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and he's getting violated because he's leaving the state like we gotta understand that some of these things just don't make good sense

00:24:20.070 --> 00:24:21.400 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, that I

00:24:21.530 --> 00:24:27.839 Tommy DiMisa: that's like, what are we thinking there? And and that is up. Is that bureaucracy? Is it just?

00:24:28.040 --> 00:24:32.669 Tommy DiMisa: We're not asking the right questions. I mean that example. Meek Mills there, it's like

00:24:33.040 --> 00:24:50.909 Tommy DiMisa: that's ridiculous like that sounds like a ridiculous situation like how he's violating his parole because he drove his kids. What do you say? 150? He went from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to get the kids to school like there needs to be some. I don't know what the word dispensation there needs to be something going like that doesn't make any sense like, why

00:24:51.190 --> 00:24:53.870 Tommy DiMisa: is that a legislative issue in your mind?

00:24:53.870 --> 00:24:55.620 Jeffrey Abramowitz: It's just common sense

00:24:55.620 --> 00:25:01.010 Tommy DiMisa: But yeah, but but it's not. That's not so common. They say, right common sense, right? I've heard that

00:25:01.010 --> 00:25:13.770 Jeffrey Abramowitz: It's true, but there's a lot of things in politics that aren't common sense. So we're not going to drive there. But but the truth is that you know, this is really isn't about politics, and when we talk, the work that I do is really centered on education

00:25:13.770 --> 00:25:37.269 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and education, workforce development and criminal justice. And there isn't. I was in Washington at the Us. Chamber of Commerce this week, and there isn't a person on either side of the aisle that disagrees with the quote the fact that we want people smarter in this country, and we want them into careers like those are 2 big premises, no matter who you are, what you look like. What your color your skin is

00:25:37.270 --> 00:25:45.230 Jeffrey Abramowitz: doesn't matter. We want people smarter in our country. We want them back to work, and and part of that is just understanding how you go about doing that.

00:25:45.230 --> 00:26:07.519 Tommy DiMisa: Okay? Well, that's what I want to get into from a technical perspective in a moment here, but smarter and careers, you say both sides of the aisle are in agreement on this, which is, that's great news. That makes me positive. I I didn't expect that you were going to say that everybody was on the same side of this. Sometimes I I but I sometimes I maybe I you know, even though the nonprofit sector can connector can get a little negative gang.

00:26:07.520 --> 00:26:34.169 Tommy DiMisa: but smarter and careers. I want to go back to something before we get further into that piece there around choice, and you talk about bad choices and things where I believe as a society. If we're not helping people get smarter and not helping them get on a career journey, and you mentioned fast food, or you mentioned maintenance and things like that. If you can't provide for your family, you might make some bad choices again. And if you're in an environment where bad choices are abounded everywhere, and you can make these. And

00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:41.470 Tommy DiMisa: and again, I'm not. I didn't grow up in these types of communities. But I know for sure I've made some bad choices in my life.

00:26:41.590 --> 00:26:53.369 Tommy DiMisa: just because people that have been around me and my own choice right? My own self responsibility for making the choice. However, when you're when it's about like taking care of your family, and you just can't make it happen on

00:26:54.080 --> 00:26:58.450 Tommy DiMisa: Burger King salary, or, you know, lower salaries.

00:26:58.760 --> 00:27:11.719 Tommy DiMisa: Sometimes you just. It's like I have to do. It's like the you know the kid who stole the loaf of bread, or the man who stole a loaf of bread so he could feed his family like stuff like crazy stuff. I mean, I don't know I get crazy about this, because

00:27:12.230 --> 00:27:15.480 Tommy DiMisa: some of this seems so obvious. You know

00:27:15.810 --> 00:27:40.410 Jeffrey Abramowitz: It's really obvious. But again, we just don't. We don't ask the right questions, and we don't take responsibility for fixing it. There was a woman who, when I was at community learning center beyond literacy, a teacher came to me and said, Mr. A. Can you talk to so and so? You know she's she's missing class, you know. It happens every month she's missing class, and I brought her in and sat down, talked to her, and said, like what's going on. She's on, Mr. A. I'm cool. This man. I got one more math

00:27:40.410 --> 00:27:51.770 Jeffrey Abramowitz: section to go, and I'm going to get my high school diploma. I said, No, like I get all that. But what's going on? How you doing? And it took me a while for me to get from her the reality that she wasn't coming to class

00:27:51.770 --> 00:28:07.040 Jeffrey Abramowitz: because she couldn't afford feminine products. So period poverty is a real thing in a lot of communities in our country, and I just never saw it like I wasn't educated to it. I didn't understand. I called my daughter, I said, Rachel, talk to me about period poverty. How do we fix it? What do we need to do?

00:28:07.060 --> 00:28:28.979 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And those are the questions we have to ask. Those are the questions, and I was blessed at the time with a stroke of a pen. I made sure we had feminine products in all our facilities, but but the truth is, had I not asked those questions like, How long is that lady going to be coming to class? You know she's just so I think it's things like that where we, we need to dig deeper, and then we need to find the solutions to them, and just just do it

00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:48.240 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, yeah, you know, that's something that's a topic that the period poverty, situation that I learned about a bunch of years ago and didn't even really it didn't catch for me until I have a friend named Heather Edwards, who runs an organization out here in Long Island, called Allied Foundation, an allied foundation founded by the Allied Physicians Group.

00:28:48.240 --> 00:29:01.659 Tommy DiMisa: which is a bunch of pediatric practices here in Long Island. And what would happen is these doctors were realizing these babies were coming in with rashes, and they didn't understand what was going on. So they asked the right questions, and the parents in the communities were saying.

00:29:02.110 --> 00:29:19.539 Tommy DiMisa: I have to leave the child in a soiled diaper because my benefits don't cover right. My Government benefits don't cover diapers and wipes and things like that. So they form the Allied foundation, and they've given away. I think, Heather, I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but something like 5 million diapers, or something

00:29:19.540 --> 00:29:43.659 Tommy DiMisa: insane like that. She, she and I were texting the other day, and she's got a delivery of 95,000 diapers. What does it have to do with period products. Well, let me tell you, the point was the next iteration of that was, they realized that same communities of people who couldn't afford diapers. The women couldn't afford these types of products as well, etc. Etc. So now they have. And I was just again texting with heather. Shout out to my Buddy Fred Taffer, outside of Philly, who runs tombow visual creations.

00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:48.783 Tommy DiMisa: does a lot of promotional items. He's done some stuff for me, some hoodies, some hats, all that stuff. But

00:29:49.440 --> 00:30:11.890 Tommy DiMisa: Fred is doing some bags for heather, and in those bags are these drawstring bags that they fill with feminine products for young girls and women, and then they hand them out to certain other community based organizations ripple effect, ripple, effect, ripple effect. But to your point, if you don't ask the questions. If the docs at Allied Physicians Group don't ask the questions. What's going on with the rash? If you don't, if you don't lean in and ask the question. This young woman.

00:30:11.890 --> 00:30:30.320 Tommy DiMisa: you sort of not sort of you, then change the trajectory of not only her situation and her life, but how many other hundreds and thousands of young women that you put the products in. I mean, this is what it is, Jeff. This is the stuff man, I mean. I do a show called Long Island Change Makers, because I want to acknowledge and just

00:30:30.450 --> 00:30:40.379 Tommy DiMisa: amplify the stories for people who are doing this type of work. So I'm glad you're here. This is so important. All these topics are important. I wrote down. Be curious.

00:30:40.750 --> 00:30:42.190 Tommy DiMisa: What do you need

00:30:42.380 --> 00:31:01.840 Tommy DiMisa: gang? That sounds like compassion to me. That sounds like love. Man, what do you need? How can we support you? Second, ever episode of this show? Dr. Larry Grubler, my very good friend. Who's the CEO of transitional services for New York? Tsin y gang? Look it up. If you don't know. Why does he drop all these names? I'm not telling you. I know, Johnny Depp.

00:31:01.840 --> 00:31:13.070 Tommy DiMisa: I'm not telling you. I know any celebrities. The people that I know run important organizations. Tsin Y. Serves 5,000 individuals with serious and persistent mental illness in 5 bars of New York City.

00:31:13.260 --> 00:31:24.649 Tommy DiMisa: That's the organizations you need to look up the organization we're talking about today is a Pd. Green program. But these are the people I hang out with people who are changing the world. Jeff. Thank you so much. Thank you for your team for all you're doing.

00:31:24.650 --> 00:31:47.019 Tommy DiMisa: Show's not over gang. We're only halfway home, baby, but we're getting into some serious stuff when we come back. I want to talk. Pd. Green. I want to talk about the organization I want to talk about how you went from. You know you're in the shelter you're walking down the street. You get this job in education right? And then. Now you're the CEO of this organization here, pretty green, maybe talk a little bit about his life and who he was. This is philanthropy and focus.

00:31:47.020 --> 00:31:49.610 Tommy DiMisa: I'm out of breath. You gotta take a break. We'll be right back

00:33:09.530 --> 00:33:21.780 Tommy DiMisa: Nonprofits need connections to move in good directions to cut through all the static, join Tommy in his attic. Here's what I could.

00:33:21.780 --> 00:33:22.689 Tommy DiMisa: How are you? Gang

00:33:22.930 --> 00:33:46.890 Tommy DiMisa: be vulnerable, be open! I just realized I ranted and raved about Dr. Larry Gruble, and I don't even think I made the point second ever episode of the show. He came on, he said, Tommy D. We all need support at different times. We all need support at different times, so I gave it a Tsin Y commercial. I didn't give you the punchline, but maybe I'll just hold them back. Maybe I was just going to get out. I just shared the website. Go to the website, pdgreen.org, and I'm going to spell out right.

00:33:46.970 --> 00:33:55.069 Tommy DiMisa: Spell it for you, PETE, YGRE, ene.org. pdgreen.org

00:33:55.650 --> 00:33:59.470 Tommy DiMisa: Jeff. Let's talk about the organization. How did you even get there? What happened there

00:33:59.470 --> 00:34:15.719 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So crazy. So I came home. So I was. I was homeless. I started teaching Ged Math became a director and adult literacy agency, and then moved my way up, started doing reentry programming, and then eventually found my way to an executive director, executive director of a really work large workforce agency

00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:33.589 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and oversaw their criminal justice programming. And then from there I was offered this position as CEO of the Petey Green program. The Petey Green program has been around 15 years. It was founded by the class of 58 at Princeton University, and Petey Green was a disc jockey in Washington, DC.

00:34:33.590 --> 00:34:51.119 Jeffrey Abramowitz: He was in a movie. They did a movie about him called Talk to me, and it tells his story where he was incarcerated, came home, and his manager and myself. Sit down, said. I want to be on the radio, and it's a dream of mine and got a radio show in Washington and had a huge following.

00:34:51.120 --> 00:35:07.140 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and the men and the men and women at Princeton University fell in love with his story and said, You know what we got to make education. The center of this. So the Pd green program is the largest multi-state provider of educational, individual educational services in the world.

00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:22.819 Jeffrey Abramowitz: What we do is really simple. We help people get smarter. And we do that using college students and volunteers from around the country. And we actually have them learn how to become tutors. And they work with people to help get them smarter in math reading.

00:35:22.820 --> 00:35:28.569 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So in the justice world there are 3 words that people often have a real challenge, saying.

00:35:28.570 --> 00:35:53.250 Jeffrey Abramowitz: I don't know. Those are the things, and by providing one on one tutoring you're getting. You're breaking down that wall where they're able to say you know what? I don't know my math. I don't know. Times Table. I don't know how to read too well, I don't know how to write too. Well, all these things. I know how to use a computer, and by breaking that down with one on one tutoring we're able to meet people where they are, and then give them the support they need.

00:35:53.250 --> 00:36:14.759 Jeffrey Abramowitz: so that we can help them get smarter and transition the pedigream program. It's been around for 16 years we have served over 20,000 students. We have thousands and thousands of volunteers in the country. We work in 130 programming sites. And it's an amazing program. So there's 2 reasons. I took my job, Tommy. One was because I'm helping people get smarter.

00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:36.569 Jeffrey Abramowitz: But 2 is because I'm using college students from around the country. And we're changing culture. We're bringing them inside of prisons and jails so they can experience what it's like. So they can understand the humanity of the people that are incarcerated and on the outside to help people when they come home. And that's just a it's just a win all the way around. So it's a remarkable organization.

00:36:36.750 --> 00:36:39.150 Jeffrey Abramowitz: We are scaling really, really fast.

00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:56.540 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And I just absolutely love my job. I love what I do every day, because again, it's impactful. If you have someone that's incarcerated. And they take one class inside a prison or jail. Just one class, they have a 40% better chance of not coming back.

00:36:56.810 --> 00:37:05.379 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and that that is one of the big problems we have in our country, you know, 2 thirds of the men and women that come home are going to find their way back inside of a prison within 3 years

00:37:05.380 --> 00:37:09.040 Tommy DiMisa: I wanna stop. I wanna stop you for a second. I wanna get these stats down. So it's

00:37:09.040 --> 00:37:15.079 Tommy DiMisa: what, yeah, yeah. What is there? If somebody takes one class while they're incarcerated, give me that again.

00:37:15.080 --> 00:37:21.499 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah. So he takes one class inside while they're incarcerated, they're 43% less likely to return to prison

00:37:21.720 --> 00:37:28.629 Jeffrey Abramowitz: 43% less likely by taking one class. However, if they don't take a class, give me the recidivism right there.

00:37:28.630 --> 00:37:38.169 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah, a 2. We're 66.8%. About 2 thirds of those people that are in our prisons and jails are gonna return within 3 years

00:37:38.170 --> 00:37:39.750 Tommy DiMisa: So it's in

00:37:40.360 --> 00:38:08.459 Tommy DiMisa: what you're doing. And other programs similar are empowering people to make better choices. And they're able to make better choices because I'm listening right now. Not right this moment. But I'm listening to atomic habits right now on audible shout out to audible, They're not a sponsor, but they are a sponsor of me. For sure, I love audible a great book, and it's all about being a different person and identifying as someone different. Right? That's not what it's all about, but that's what I'm taking from it early on in the book.

00:38:08.809 --> 00:38:14.379 Tommy DiMisa: And it reminds me like, be, do have. Who do I have to be to experience these things?

00:38:14.510 --> 00:38:39.130 Tommy DiMisa: If I am an individual who doesn't have access and is not educated right and cannot read, or is challenged with literacy. I feel inclined. Shout out, to book fairies here on Long Island. Talk about millions. They've given away 5 million books to people. There's a whole nother thing. We should talk about that later, Jeff, when we're not live. Tommy D. We're not networking now we're doing a show. So so we're empowering these individuals to be able to make better choices because they're not.

00:38:39.130 --> 00:38:45.309 Tommy DiMisa: I'd argue the same individual because they're educated. Now, you're creating smarter people right?

00:38:45.980 --> 00:39:03.300 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, it's it's a whole. It's that, you know. It's that chain of events that you keep talking about. You know it's that chain if somebody cared enough. And I have story after story about people that we helped get their high school diploma, we help them. We have a remarkable program called College Readiness College Bridge.

00:39:03.300 --> 00:39:30.060 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So gets people ready for college. People never imagined in their lifetime going to college or having the opportunity. And now you know what? There's a course. There's a program that we have that gets people ready. So when they go to college, they have a chance of succeeding. And really, you know, really being prepared. So I mean, so many of these things are there. This trickle effect? I'll give you this data point, which I think, is fascinating, that the number one predictor of a child's

00:39:30.060 --> 00:39:41.770 Jeffrey Abramowitz: educational attainment in their lifetime. So if you have a kid, the number one marker for for their education in their lifetime is the education of their parent. Now think about that.

00:39:41.770 --> 00:40:06.000 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Think about that. So if you can get Mom or Dad smarter, then what's going to happen is their kids are going to get smarter. They see Mom and Dad with a high school diploma going to college being successful, having a career like in college may not be for everybody. But there are some really successful people coming home that are getting certifications and plumbing, and Hvac and electrical and all these other things. So I think we just have to be real.

00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:12.590 Jeffrey Abramowitz: that a lot of that it takes education. It takes a basic ability to read, to write, to use a computer.

00:40:12.600 --> 00:40:20.230 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And the more we can hook into that, the more we're going to see people transitioning, not into just a job, but into a true career.

00:40:20.230 --> 00:40:36.200 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, yeah, and shout out to the trades gang. I mean, there's so much opportunity college. I will stay in here right now. I'm raising 4 children. Maybe all 4 go to college. I don't know yet. We're not there yet, but I'm not somebody who says we got to go to college. There's so much to do. Plumbers, electricians.

00:40:36.200 --> 00:40:55.520 Tommy DiMisa: bricklayers, so many careers you can get into, and if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you parlay that trade into being a business owner and an entrepreneur. There's so much there. However, your point earlier, you need the basics you're gonna need your reading. You're going to need your math and some of it elevated math depending on which direction you're going. But I.

00:40:55.570 --> 00:41:05.330 Tommy DiMisa: And and again, people talk about AI and the whole digital thing and stuff like that. I don't know when AI robots are going to go out and and run cable

00:41:05.330 --> 00:41:31.530 Tommy DiMisa: lines, and, you know, like underground, or, or, you know, work in sewers and stuff like that. I don't think we're there yet, and those are admirable jobs to go out and provide for your family, and I feel like in this country. There's so much about. Everybody needs to go to college, and I think you're I believe you're not saying that. But everybody's got to go to college, and and that's a whole nother game, because then now we're under the thumb, and we owe all this money back, and you know? What do you think on that

00:41:31.530 --> 00:41:46.219 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah, most of most of the people that I work with are not going to college for a lot of reasons, you know. Look, we opened up the Pell Grant initiative for people that were incarcerated a few years ago, and it was under the 1st trump administration. He reinstated Pell Grants.

00:41:46.220 --> 00:42:08.750 Jeffrey Abramowitz: But the truth is, very few people were successful in completing that, because number one, many people weren't ready for college, and they weren't prepared for what was going to happen next, and then when they come home, life takes over. You know the big thing coming home from prison and jail is, you know, making sure your family is fed. You got a roof over your head that you got a job that you can navigate all these challenges.

00:42:08.750 --> 00:42:14.949 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and there are over 44,000 documented challenges for people coming home from prison. Think about that 40

00:42:14.950 --> 00:42:15.330 Tommy DiMisa: Twice.

00:42:15.330 --> 00:42:25.009 Jeffrey Abramowitz: 1,000, you know, just starting with an identification look, we tell people, 1st thing you get home, get a job, get a job, gotta work right. And what do you need in order to work in this country?

00:42:25.010 --> 00:42:27.769 Tommy DiMisa: If I need an address right? Probably need

00:42:27.770 --> 00:42:47.659 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Right. You need an Id, and you need so security card. And those are 2 things that are often the hardest for people to get when they come home. So you know again, we just don't wear those glasses that we need to be wearing to think, to understand that when everyone leaves a prisoner jail the very 1st thing that we should be giving them before they walk out the door is.

00:42:47.940 --> 00:42:59.540 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and identification. Give them a state. Id. You know, we know who they are. Right. They're incarcerated. We know where who they are. Let's give them a state id, so that they can get a job when they get home, and they don't have to worry about getting identification

00:42:59.540 --> 00:43:11.959 Tommy DiMisa: What about that? What does that look like from a to get that actually implemented a program like that? Are you guys involved with? You know. I know you said you were in DC. You know, different things like that recently. So talk about that. If you could

00:43:12.150 --> 00:43:39.770 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah, we're in a bunch of different states, and you know what it's taking responsibility. Again. I was at a job fair last year, and Pen Dot, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was there. And I said, Look, can you issue identifications right on the spot for people coming home with this job fair to the largest job fair in Pennsylvania. It's at Temple University. And they said, Yeah, we can do that. And then I got there, and I noticed that you know what people don't have money to pay for it. They couldn't afford the 50 or 60 bucks they were forking it out. I handed the guy my credit card, I said, look.

00:43:39.770 --> 00:43:56.539 Jeffrey Abramowitz: run it up to $2,000. Anyone wants an Id. Give them an id right here, put up to $2,000 on my car. And he did, and they ran through it all. They got everybody as many ids. We need to own it. We need to find ways and solutions, and we're doing a better job at it. But we're still not there yet.

00:43:56.640 --> 00:44:22.789 Jeffrey Abramowitz: We just have to. These things have to be on our radar screen. So you know, we can understand. Not to make any assumptions. We need to be curious again, you know, when you somebody gets a job we shouldn't assume they can get to work the 1st day. They may not have bus transportation, they may not be able to get to work. We shouldn't assume they got work boots, or they got clothes to fit that fit for work. You know, we have to ask those questions, or that they have the digital the skills to even log in at work.

00:44:22.790 --> 00:44:42.729 Jeffrey Abramowitz: The 1st my 1st paycheck. When I came home I was making $7 an hour teaching Ged math in North Philadelphia, one of the most challenging areas of our country, and I got my 1st paycheck. I walk into my boss, I said. You know, I need my! Where's my paycheck? I'm all excited. My 1st paycheck wasn't a lot of money, $7 an hour. How much is it going to be.

00:44:42.750 --> 00:44:59.530 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And she said, What do you mean? She said. Everything is direct deposit and a direct deposit. I had a financial crime. I didn't even have a bank account. I had no idea what to do. So we have to be. We have to be curious. We have to ask those questions, and and that will help us get there

00:44:59.530 --> 00:45:24.050 Tommy DiMisa: You know that that goes to Hr. In my opinion, you know, and education around Hr. And and 1st of all, I believe, like we're talking about. We need to be more open-minded and curious about about hiring people who have a record, you know, and I feel like, you know, a number of years ago, you know, 1520 years ago there was this thing where you have to say, have you been convicted of a felony? And

00:45:24.220 --> 00:45:36.539 Tommy DiMisa: I don't see that so much in job applications that I see for clients and candidates and different things like that. So that has changed, I guess. And but then there's another ripple to that where it's like, okay. But

00:45:36.650 --> 00:46:05.009 Tommy DiMisa: what do we need to take in mind? And to your point, be curious about onboarding somebody properly because they don't have context of some of these things. I mean, you know, I there's things that people come out after, you know, 20 year sentence or something like that, and the world is a different world. Man, the world is like, I don't want to say left them behind. But if somebody's gone away for longer than that, you know. I saw something on. It was a very. It was just like a quick thing on a newscast one time. It's a long time ago.

00:46:05.220 --> 00:46:05.810 Tommy DiMisa: and

00:46:06.610 --> 00:46:09.580 Tommy DiMisa: These 2 men had just gotten out of prison, and

00:46:10.160 --> 00:46:25.830 Tommy DiMisa: they didn't have any concept of cell phones. And then they also. They were about to walk across the street with a reporter, and they were both very concerned. This is somewhere in New York City, I believe, and it was like they were concerned about getting in trouble for jaywalking.

00:46:25.900 --> 00:46:49.169 Tommy DiMisa: And like it was, it was just like a. It was like a silly thing that kind of always stuck with me. But like, I don't know if jaywalking is actually a thing anymore. But like in their era like. And again, they were probably so indoctrinated into having to follow rules and stuff like that all the time. But you know, what do you think about just that? Like not even having context of what what there is. And then we got to go quick, break after that

00:46:49.170 --> 00:47:13.930 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah, there are people that that have never seen cell phones inside never used a computer before. And they come home. And what's the 1st thing we're tasked to do is go online and file an application. It's like, you know, you need to download your resume. What? How do I download download. What's that? What's a mouse look like, I have no idea. Yeah, really, basic things like that we just shouldn't assume. Because, you know, the truth is. And many people, you know, they struggle with those issues coming home.

00:47:14.120 --> 00:47:42.139 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And we need to be really mindful. Hr. Is a whole different thing. We probably talk about it after the break. What employers really need to know when they hire somebody that's got a criminal background, and and what what it is. But I want to before we take the break. I want people that are out there thinking about this. Imagine the most embarrassing thing you've ever done in your life. And then imagine sitting in front of someone and having to tell that person that embarrassing thing, and then ask them for a job.

00:47:42.580 --> 00:47:45.289 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So so it's really hard to do

00:47:45.290 --> 00:47:45.809 Tommy DiMisa: Stick with that

00:47:45.810 --> 00:47:46.249 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Or do they?

00:47:46.250 --> 00:47:48.469 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, take that one for the next 90 seconds. Gang

00:47:49.330 --> 00:48:00.639 Tommy DiMisa: it with that. Okay, go in your memory, Banks, most embarrassing thing, and and then have to put that out there, and while you're asking them to to give you a gig, we'll be right back philanthropy and focus

00:49:34.300 --> 00:49:35.550 Tommy DiMisa: Alright. We are back.

00:49:36.830 --> 00:49:54.450 Tommy DiMisa: and for those of you who listen to the show before, or those of you who met me in real life. You probably know what I always wanted to be when I grew up, which hasn't happened yet, either of what I wanted to be or growing up, but I always wanted to be a game show host. So this is sort of like the lightning round. This is like when we run out of time on the game show, and they go beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, you know, like Pat Sajak, and

00:49:54.450 --> 00:50:08.629 Tommy DiMisa: you know, on the wheel of fortune things like that. So we got a couple of things still covered before we go, and we've got a short time to do it. So Jeff, real quick. Let's hit on that thing about Hr, because I think that's really important for companies to be aware of. And we get what's the name of your show again, that people should plug into it from an employee

00:50:08.630 --> 00:50:29.864 Jeffrey Abramowitz: It's called behind every employer, and they can get they can reach that coabe.org COAB e.org. That's the coalition on adult basic education. And that's a conference that I'm at now. So behind every employer, you want to check that out or just Google behind every employer in my name, it'll come up. But yeah, Hr is really important. You know we are. We have to be aware that.

00:50:30.140 --> 00:50:47.959 Jeffrey Abramowitz: that, you know people have things on their background and that Hr shouldn't be using that background check just to eliminate people from opportunities. We should be looking at the skills they bring to the table and not their past. And if somebody's qualified, and there's a huge labor pool out there, about a 3rd of our country has a criminal history.

00:50:47.960 --> 00:50:56.939 Jeffrey Abramowitz: So, being mindful of that, and really giving people an opportunity and just not using a criminal background check is really important. Human resources

00:50:57.202 --> 00:51:20.320 Jeffrey Abramowitz: are now getting. They're really realizing that a lot better now, and they're starting to open the door up wider to people that are coming home and and letting them. And I do believe in transparency. I believe if you have something on your record, you should disclose it, that you should tell your employer about it, you know you don't. Wanna you want to be upfront, no matter how embarrassing or bad it might be. And yeah, I think that that's the best way to go

00:51:20.530 --> 00:51:44.589 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, that's great. And we should do a whole. Another show just about best practices from Hr, but it sounds like we could learn a lot from your program. Anyway. Let's let's get into kind of like, what's upcoming for this organization. I wrote down scaling really fast. I read something in your strategic report. Which strategic plan, which is really great, which is right on the website. And I was looking through that this morning, and there was something about national expansion, I mean.

00:51:44.590 --> 00:52:08.780 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Oh, my gosh, yeah, we we're moving really fast. That's great. And it's 1 of the things that you know we're realizing because we're nonprofit. And because we're helping people get smarter, our goal is to actually help the metrics of teachers and instructors around the country that are doing this work because we provide one on one tutoring and support. So we are scaling. We're growing across the country. We're you know. We're excited about that expansion. We're currently we're going to be in

00:52:08.780 --> 00:52:23.730 Jeffrey Abramowitz: many, many more States over the coming months. And what that looks like is both inside our prisons and jails and on the outside, working with people and also being creative about it. We just launched the Puck Hammer Center for educational justice and equity.

00:52:23.730 --> 00:52:44.980 Jeffrey Abramowitz: which is a national think and action tank and a fellowship program for people that are justice impacted as well as a program evaluator to prove the work that you're doing. You know person without data is just another person with an opinion. So being able to really show the great work that we're doing and looking at it, and also going into things like human workforce development.

00:52:44.980 --> 00:53:09.350 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And you know, know that part of our job is not just to educate people, but help them educate, to become good employees and productive in the workforce. So we're working hard in the workforce development field. And then we're also looking at people that can make change happen, and that includes people that are longer term residents of our carceral setting people that have been down 1015, 20 years or serving a life term.

00:53:09.470 --> 00:53:39.269 Jeffrey Abramowitz: And now we're starting to use those people that have an education inside our prisons and jails to be tutors. We're teaching them to be tutors so they can when there's a lockdown or something going on in a prisoner jail, their learning will still go on because we got our tutors right inside, and there are credible messengers. They're the ones that are telling the young folks that are coming in. Man, you don't want to be like me. You don't want to be like an og like me in the system. You want to get out there and do right and get smart and find a career. So yeah, lots going on

00:53:39.270 --> 00:53:47.899 Tommy DiMisa: Lots going on. And I did share. So if you go to the website, pdgreen.org and I will spell it out for everybody, PETE, YGRE, ene.org

00:53:48.050 --> 00:54:13.039 Tommy DiMisa: scroll. Down to that 1st page gang. On the bottom of that 1st page you could see the executive summary that I'm looking at the Puck Camera center on page 6 and 7. And just really a great. I want to read this later on, that your strategic plan for 2024 to 2028. I'm excited to know you and know the organization and really be aware of the growth. And I want to ask you fundraisers, events, things that people need to know about Jeff. What's going on there

00:54:13.040 --> 00:54:41.950 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Yeah, you definitely want to get on our website, our big, we have a 5 k coming up in April, the second week of April that's in Washington. It's going to be in Washington, DC. And Princeton, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston all in the same day. So if you're interested in any of those areas or get on virtually and check us out. You want to get on the website, though. Our big event this year is later on in September this year we're going to be recognizing the Brandon Chaskowski. He was a chef at Edwin's. He just got the James Beard award.

00:54:41.950 --> 00:54:46.149 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and he's got a program in a restaurant called Edwin's in Cleveland.

00:54:46.150 --> 00:55:08.810 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and amazing. But every person that works in the restaurant is just as impacted. And they're doing some amazing work. It's a 5 Star restaurant. He's doing some great stuff training people as they come home. But get online. We also have a justice education series. These are all we call them free. 95. They don't cost anything at all. And you can just get smarter and learn more about the organization. Always

00:55:08.810 --> 00:55:23.910 Jeffrey Abramowitz: we're open to donations. We are a nonprofit organization, and we're always looking to increase our funding. But get on the website and check us out. There's a lot on there, and a lot of it's free. And if you want to become a tutor man, if you're in one of the jurisdictions we're at.

00:55:23.910 --> 00:55:32.099 Jeffrey Abramowitz: definitely you wanna check us out. Give us a call, hit me up with an email, and we'd love to see if we can find a place for you to to become a tutor and get involved

00:55:32.100 --> 00:55:54.529 Tommy DiMisa: I want to ask you one more quick one before we go. And I'm sharing. Once you get on the website gang, you go to the Puck camera. It's 1 of the tabs you can check out right up at the top. So let me ask you this question. Give me a quick story if we could, about a college, a young person who became a tutor, and how their life was impacted just by this experience, real quick, if you could something, an addict

00:55:54.710 --> 00:56:10.469 Jeffrey Abramowitz: Oh, man, there's so many! I want to tell you a student first, st because there was a well, the State, the State of Pennsylvania. Their adult literacy program has a student of the year award, and last year one of our students who got tutored inside got the award, and she was a grandma.

00:56:10.730 --> 00:56:27.060 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and she was up, and she was receiving the award, and she was grateful talking about her story of how she was incarcerated, and started with her. Ged, and then now is in college going to her Master's degree. But the thing that was most impactful standing right next to her was her 6 year old granddaughter.

00:56:27.080 --> 00:56:44.009 Jeffrey Abramowitz: and and that the little her granddaughter just had this smile that grandma had just, you know, she just won the Super bowl, and she was getting this award. That that's the impact of education is that it's it's multi generational. It can make change happen. And that's why we do what we do

00:56:44.010 --> 00:57:08.599 Tommy DiMisa: I love that. I'm glad you chose that story. What's the ripple effect with that young girl seeing grandma changing her life around? Right? You talked about the statistics, the number one predictor of somebody's success academically, and education wise is the education level of their parents. You are making me consider everything I'm doing in my own life raising my 4 children, my wife. This is the stuff we must continue to iterate on in our minds gang.

00:57:08.600 --> 00:57:25.310 Tommy DiMisa: We're one big family. Listen, here he goes. I don't care about where people live on this entire planet. We're one race of human beings, and we need to support each other to the best of our ability and give people what they need and what I learned most. And I learned a bunch from you today, Jeff. What I learned most is to be curious.

00:57:25.310 --> 00:57:54.699 Tommy DiMisa: What do you need reach out gang? What do you need? I talk about mental health? It's okay to not be okay. Right? Check in on people. Give love, give compassion. Give hugs, Jeff. I can't wait to run into you in real life and give you a hug, because what you did for me and the people listening is incredibly impactful. Thank you for being here. Shout out to my friend Anna Erickson over at Seville's, because if it wasn't for you, Anna, I don't meet Jeff. So that's just how the world goes. And I know, knowing Jeff, that I'm going to meet a whole bunch of more people changing the world and make it into better

00:57:54.700 --> 00:58:04.690 Tommy DiMisa: place. So thank you all for being here. I will be waiting here until you all come back and see me next Friday, so I'll be right here in the attic. So just meet me here. Make it a great day. I'll see you later. Thanks.