Employment Opportunities
The Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice is leading a project to increase employment opportunities for people with prior convictions in California. The project, funded by the Rosenberg Foundation, is guided by an Advisory Board consisting of law enforcement officials, community advocates, employers and others from across the state.
BCCJ will synthesize existing research and evidence-based practices on employment opportunities for people with prior convictions; conduct research activities such as on-line surveys, individual interviews and focus groups to get a more systematic understanding of the issues facing California; form a broad-based Advisory Board of key stakeholders; develop recommendations for increasing employment opportunities for people with prior convictions - based on both the research and consensus input from the broad-based Advisory Board - and present those recommendations in a written report; and support implementation of selected recommendations.
The Advisory Board consists of:
- Deborah Alvarez-Rodriquez, President and CEO, Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties
- Father Greg Boyle, Executive Director, Homeboy Industries
- Bill Brown, Sheriff, Santa Barbara County
- Allen Davenport, Government Relations Director, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
- Ronald Davis, Chief of Police, East Palo Alto Police Department
- Bonnie Dumanis, District Attorney, San Diego County
- Maurice Emsellem, Public Policy Director, National Employment Law Project (NELP)
- Linda Evans, Organizer, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) and All of Us or None
- Kevin Grant, Violence Prevention Network Coordinator, Oakland Department of Human Services
- Mike Jimenez, President, California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA)
- Nancy Nittler, President, County Personnel Administrators' Association of California (CPAAC) and Personnel Director, Placer County
- Dorsey Nunn, Co-Director, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) and All of Us or None
- Anita Paredes, Executive Director, Community Connection Resource Center
- Colleene Preciado, Chief Probation Officer, Orange County
- Steven Raphael, Professor, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy
- John Shegerian, Chief Executive Officer, Electronic Recyclers, Inc.
- Richard Valle, Chief Executive Officer, Tri-CED Community Recycling
For more information on this project, please contact BCCJ Senior Research Associate Sarah Lawrence.
