Keynote Speaker
Teresa Y. Hodge, a passionate advocate for people with criminal connections, is committed to reducing the lasting harm caused by prison. It was a 70-month federal prison sentence for a white-collar, non-violent, first-time offense that introduced her first-hand to the justice system and mass incarceration in America.
Upon coming home, she and her daughter Laurin Hodge co-founded Mission: Launch, Inc. a non-profit focused on introducing technology and entrepreneurship to previously incarcerated individuals as a way of ensuring self-sufficiency. Additionally, the organization founded and manages the Rebuilding Re-Entry Coalition, a citizen-led movement committed to creating a more just and inclusive society for returning citizens (persons who exit prison or jail). The Coalition and its members desire to leverage its efforts within the greater Washington DC region to ensure a more efficient and safer re-entry for everyone.
As the Director of Strategy & Innovation for Mission: Launch, Inc., Teresa plays a critical role in building strategic partnerships and establishing social enterprise models for greater reach and sustainability. Prior experience as an entrepreneur allowed her to maximize her time in prison looking for best practices to help her and others get back on their feet upon release. Hodge is a certified life coach, with a specialty in prison re-entry. Her memoir and private coaching practice, Pearls & Prison, continues to bring meaning and closure to the time she spent in prison. In 2014 she was selected to be one of the initial cohort members of JustLeadershipUSA, an organization committed to ensuring that the voice of the formerly incarcerated is equipped to advocate for prison reform.