From Outrage to Action: How Bianca Tylek is Dismantling a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry

Bianca Tylek is exposing the invisible ecosystem of actors that financially benefit from incarceration. Starting with prison telecoms, she is dismantling the financial incentives for each sector of the prison industry to pave a road toward transformational change in the U.S. carceral system [1].

This article explains how Bianca navigated her early days in criminal justice, leveraged her unique advantage, built a network strategically, and earned credibility and visibility - all while amplifying the voices of others.

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The first time I learned of Bianca Tylek, I was furious.

I had just read in Mother Jones magazine that people could spend tens of thousands of dollars to simply speak to a loved one in prison.

Reason being, a few telecom firms dominate prison communications, and have no incentive to compete on quality or cost. These firms are charging families high rates and then giving a portion of the fees to the state, which dissuades the state to stand up to the exorbitant fees [2].

However, Bianca Tylek and a group of advocates, legislators, and community members, are fighting back against the multibillion-dollar telecom industry — and winning [2].

In 2021, as a result of the efforts by Bianca and her partners, Connecticut was the first state to let incarcerated people make free calls, saving their families $14 million a year.

Since then, I've been following Bianca's work for two reasons.

First, after I learned of the exploitation and profiteering of the prison industry, it was impossible to ignore. The most appealing part for me however, was that Bianca represented a modern-day 'David and Goliath' story.

Bianca is a woman of color running the nonprofit Worth Rises, which is strategically dismantling the multi-billion dollar prison industry by exposing its greed and the numerous corporations, executives, and government officials complicit in it.

In just seven years, Bianca and Worth Rises have deprived the prison industry and its investors of over a billion dollars, while saving the communities impacted by incarceration millions of dollars.

Bianca Tylek's bravery and the enormity of the challenge Worth Rises is undertaking inspired me to share her story; specifically the steps she took to build her momentum early on.

This article details the initial stages of Bianca’s advocacy and organization, her strategy for curating a network of influential people that opened doors for her, how she approaches building credibility and visibility, and ultimately, how she gained momentum for her mission to deliver high-impact results.

Leverage Your Unique Advantage

In building momentum, the first stage is what I refer to as 'The Strategy of Play,' and the most important step in this stage is to clearly define your role and mission. Without this fundamental understanding of who you are and what you plan to do, it's hard to make any significant moves, let alone take down an entire industry.

When I asked Bianca how she defined her role and mission in the beginning of her career, her answer was concise: "I found a gap and determined that few others had the expertise to fill it."

That gap was the ability to analyze criminal justice issues in a different way, since one of Bianca's many superpowers is financial analysis, having worked in finance prior to criminal justice.

Bianca's experience on Wall Street equipped her with a specific skill set that allowed her to understand the market, its driving factors, how to identify who was profiting from prisons and jails, and why.?

"Criminal justice is not a space filled with former bankers," Bianca commented. Understanding that those in criminal justice "may not have the business acumen to understand capital markets, business models, and financial statements," Bianca realized she could apply her unique skills to bridge this knowledge gap.

The Early Days

Every leader's journey begins somewhere. My aim during our conversation was to outline Bianca's path in order to provide a blueprint to anyone wanting to build momentum that leads to systemic reform.

Before recalling her own journey, Bianca acknowledged that the fight for prison reform had been ongoing for decades prior to her involvement.

Aware that significant groundwork had already been laid, Bianca initially asked herself, "What is it that I can uniquely do in this space that isn't already being done?"

Her rationale was to avoid duplicating efforts, and instead, build upon the progress of her predecessors.

Bianca understood that the high profits earned by those involved in the prison industry incentivized them to maintain and even expand incarceration.

Drawing on her finance background, Bianca decided to address this macro-level issue. Her goal became to expose and dismantle the prison industry while returning the resources it was extracting back to impacted communities.

While most would assume the first step in a new endeavor is to establish an organization, that was not Bianca's first move.

Interestingly, Bianca admitted that her goal wasn't to start an organization, and in fact, she actively dissuades people from doing so. This is because she believes "the non-profit space is saturated and in most cases it's unnecessary to start anew if you can partner with an existing organization instead to improve, bolster, or expand their efforts."

Instead, in those early days, she spent the first few months seeing if there was another organization where she could nest her work as a department, as a division, or as a project. It was only when she realized that wasn't the best viable option (no one else was focusing on removing the profit incentives behind the industry) did she choose to start an organization of her own.

From there, Bianca challenged herself by asking "Will anyone give me money to do this?" She then sought to answer her own question.

After securing three major funders, Bianca immediately shifted her focus "from raising money to actually doing the work she was saying she was going to do."

From the beginning and throughout her journey, Bianca has largely maintained a philosophy: "The work, meaning the results, will bring money in. If your strategy proves itself effective and you can change lives, the money will follow." Of course, she admits access to capital is part of the equation, which leads to the next part of her story.?

Building Her Network

To be successful in Bianca's line of work, you need to work with legislators, journalists, community leaders, corporate executives, and more.

Acknowledging she had to build a strong network, Bianca went to her alumni network from Harvard Law since one of her other superpowers is also being an attorney (yes, incredible I know).?

Bianca recognized that her alumni network provided her access to "rooms where people with money were." This allowed her to talk about the impact Worth Rises was having and she always made sure to be specific about the work they did and the results they were achieving.

Bianca stressed that demonstrating the impact they were making was key to attracting funders.?

In those initial years, Bianca indicated that she pushed herself to have a lot of conversations in order to keep the momentum going.

A successful tactic of hers was at the end of each conversation, Bianca asked "Who are the other two, three, or four people that I should talk to? And will you make an introduction for me?"

Reflecting on her experience, Bianca explained that initially it was a constant cycle of accomplishing milestones and presenting the results. This results-oriented approach was the foundation for attracting funding and expanding her network.?

Credibility and Visibility

Attracting influential decision-makers to a movement requires credibility, especially when confronting something as massive as the prison industry. In a compellingly concise statement, Bianca explained her method for building credibility: "Getting wins builds credibility."?

There have been numerous features written about Bianca and Worth Rises, and a long list of wins are displayed on their website. It's clear that Bianca, her team, and her strategic partners have done the work, are fervently continuing to do so, and are thus reaping the benefits of credibility.?

With credibility as a baseline, next comes visibility - the other half of the equation in gaining relevance and momentum for a cause.

Bianca, always focused on what can move their work forward, said "I’m not preoccupied with my visibility, though I recognize it's very helpful for fundraising. My TED Talk was definitely something that boosted my visibility and credibility, along with consistent media mentions."?

Furthermore, Bianca explained that she sees visibility as important in three ways.

First, visibility is necessary for funding. Bianca noted "If nobody knows your organization exists, you will not receive the necessary funding to continue the work."

Secondly, Bianca illustrated that funding allows for the education that leads to change.

"You can't change the narrative if you're not part of it." Bianca pointed out. "Education is the first step in changing any harm, because people first need to know that harm exists. Then, it's about visibility for that harm, for the people who are impacted by it, and for the solutions you offer to that harm."

Lastly, visibility is vital for applying pressure. "Anytime you want to change the status quo, pressure is often needed," Bianca explained. "This pressure typically comes from the public or some kind of push. People don't want to be portrayed negatively in the press, so you need visibility to apply pressure. It's not about the visibility of the person, but the visibility of the work, the issue, the solutions, and the people affected."

Bianca went on to say that her favorite kind of visibility is the one that doesn't include her or her organization because it shows that more people believe in the mission and are joining the cause.

Amplifying The Voices of Others

During my conversation with Bianca, I was struck by how frequently she emphasized the importance of sharing the stories of those affected by the prison industry.

The power of Bianca's work lies in her commitment to sharing these stories — the stories of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, their exploited families and friends, and anyone else impacted by the prison industry.

Storytelling is a fundamental concept in advocacy, however it can be overlooked by leaders in other fields, or viewed purely as a marketing strategy.?

Anyone aiming to make an impact must recognize the importance of giving a platform to existing narratives — only then can we challenge and change perspectives.

Resilience Drives Reform

In a world where injustice often goes unchallenged, Bianca Tylek's story is where hard work pays off, and strategic and mission-driven leadership is rewarded. Her journey from identifying a deeply entrenched issue to mobilizing a movement for systemic change exemplifies the profound impact one individual can have when armed with conviction, clarity of purpose, and an unwavering commitment to justice.?

Bianca's approach to prison reform—leveraging her unique skills, building a coalition of support, and focusing on tangible outcomes—offers invaluable lessons for anyone aspiring to make a difference.

Through her work, Bianca not only challenges us to rethink the systems that govern our society but also inspires us to consider our own role in fostering a more equitable world.

Want to see Bianca in action? Watch Bianca's TED talk here.

Also, check out this article with one of the best headlines I’ve seen: This terrifyingly smart ex-banker and Harvard Law grad is working to destroy the $80 billion prison-industrial complex?

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This article first appeared on the Momentum By Design book website at:

https://www.momentumbydesign.org/articles/bianca-tylek

References

1. Ashoka. About Bianca Tylek. Retrieved from: https://www.ashoka.org/en-us/fellow/bianca-tylek
2. Kaizer-Schatzlein, R. (2023, September). Is This the End of Prison Phone Fees? Mother Jones Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.motherjones.com/criminal-justice/2023/08/conneticut-prison-phone-fees-securus/