Defy Ventures

?? Huge shoutout to Angela Johnson and Bryan Flamm for representing Defy Ventures and accepting the Corrections Champion Award on behalf of Defy Ventures Utah! A special thank you to Brian Redd and the incredible team at the Utah Department of Corrections for leading with courage and partnering with us to serve individuals in Utah. Your vision and dedication inspire us to keep pushing boundaries and changing lives. Together, we’re showing what’s possible when we invest in people and believe in their ability to defy the odds. #SecondChances #DefyTheOdds #CorrectionsChampion

?? Exciting News! ?? I’m incredibly honored to share that Defy Illinois has been awarded **Member of the Year** for Austin Coming Together! Austin Coming Together is an organization that works to empower residents and provide vital resources to the westside of Chicago. Austin Coming Together stewards the quality-of-life plan which is a set of goals created by and for the community designed to address 23 strategies with 84 total actions across 7 Issue Areas including Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement. This recognition means so much to the Defy community because it is a reflection of the amazing impact made by the Entrepreneurs in Training, volunteers, and supporters who believe in second chances and are re-writing the narrative around those impacted by the legal system. Being part of this initiative has allowed Defy IL to connect with inspiring individuals and contribute to meaningful projects that truly impact the Austin neighborhood in Chicago (and beyond). Defy IL is part of the Austin Workforce Collaborative, an ACT project. This initiative bolsters? Austin’s economy by improving its infrastructure, building local and small businesses, and training/developing local workers and entrepreneurs. Together, we’re creating meaningful economic opportunities, fostering collaboration, and driving positive change in Austin for years to come. A huge thank you to Austin Coming Together and the leadership team for welcoming Defy IL and creating a space for us to contribute. We truly appreciate your support and encouragement. Defy IL looks forward to continuing our journey together and making a lasting difference in the community! Let’s keep pushing boundaries and uplifting one another. Here’s to many more achievements ahead! ???? #DefyTheOdds #SecondChances #WeDefy #AustinComingTogether #CommunityImpact #Gratitude #Leadership #Collaboration

I wanted to share a video to thank all our community of supporters, volunteers, donors, philanthropists, and champions that have supported Defy Ventures' work all these years. There is no way we could do this work without you! Thank you for your belief in second chances and the human capacity to change! Special shout out to Defy Ventures' latest team member, Van Ditthavong for putting this together! If you want to see our work firsthand, please join us at our next event in Torrance on November 23rd: https://lnkd.in/g_YGi7_N #defytheodds #secondchances Melissa Lucas Josh Wand Michael Carney Susan Napier Tom Shieh Mark Bowles Kelly Abbott Gary Peterson Dillon Iwu Meaghan Ferrall Kessman Nathan Baldwin Judge Songhai Armstead (Ret.) Kyle McKinney, MBA Ryan Crownholm Shelby Larkin Felicia Alexander Kerry Bennett Vincent Bragg Jaubrae Dixon and many many more!! Tower 28 Beauty, Inc. TOMS JPMorganChase Drbronner

?? Defy Utah kicked off with a powerful start and we're thrilled to welcome our first cohort of Entrepreneurs in Training (EITs), who have taken massive action to become the CEOs of Their New Lives! Over the next six months, these 55 determined men will complete 2000+ pages of curriculum and dive deep into topics like: - Coping Skills - Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs - Business Ideation - Identifying Customer Problems - Building a Business Plan & Pitch At Defy Ventures, we believe true transformation starts with character and leadership development. Because entrepreneurship is more than just making money—without the right mindset and healthy coping skills, running a business can take a toll on our mental, spiritual, and physical health. This journey of transformation also requires community buy-in. The ~4,800 people incarcerated in Utah are members of our community. That's why it's vital our community outside of the prison walls get involved. Major shout-out to some of Utah’s top business leaders who showed up, got vulnerable, and didn’t just talk about change—they became the change: Bryan Flamm, Shawn Finnegan, Jeffrey Flamm, Kent Richeson, Zack Andersen, Dennis Wynn, Toby Hathaway Lee, Mason Bennett, Steven Shallenberger, Bart Mortensen, Glen Mills. #DefyUtah #Entrepreneurship #SecondChances #TransformLives #BusinessLeaders #CommunityImpact ?? Credit: NinetyEightStudios, thank you for partnering with us to capture this amazing day!

?? Exciting Announcement! ?? Defy Ventures is excited about the **Prisoncast! Election Show** airing this **Wednesday, October 23rd** from **12 p.m. to 1 p.m. CT** on most Illinois NPR stations! We wanted to share this with our community because this show will feature news and conversations about civic participation from prison and the candidates’ stances on incarceration and the justice system. This special broadcast will dive deep into the important issues surrounding the upcoming elections, featuring insightful discussions, expert opinions, and voices from those often overlooked in the political conversation. Tune in to be informed, inspired, and engaged! Let's amplify the voices that matter and make our democracy stronger together. ?? Don’t miss it! #Prisoncast #ElectionShow #NPR #Illinois #CivicEngagement #defytheodds

This week at #CGI2024, I was honored to represent Defy Ventures and join a community of people and organizations that are making a difference in the lives of millions of people across the world. At this year's Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, we launched a Commitment to Action to build economic opportunity for people returning home from incarceration. Specifically, we are looking to TRIPLE our impact over the next 5 years - this means we'll be working to grow our work in the 9 states where we already operate and expand our work to new states. I'm excited to be embarking on this effort to fulfill our mission to shift mindsets to give people with criminal histories their best shot at a second chance on a new scale. If you've joined us before for Defy Ventures events, you know the power of what we do - please keep supporting our work and tell a friend. If you haven't yet seen it and are ready to join us, let me know! With the support of the Defy community, by 2030, we can exceed our goal to bring our entrepreneurship, career readiness, well-being, and personal development programs to nearly five thousand currently and formerly incarcerated individuals across the country every year as they seek to Defy the Odds!