We all deserve a second chance. But what if you never got a first? Victor Dickson leads the Safer Foundation, which supports the social and economic reintegration of formerly incarcerated people. The Foundation’s diverse services, including workforce development and mental health counseling, help people who are held back by violence, substance abuse, and poverty build the habits of happy and prosocial life. In this episode, I talk with Victor about the barriers and solutions to prisoner reentry and about the role models that supported him in his own professional journey.

Mentioned During the Show

Safer Foundation

Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. (now AT&T)

Sprint (now T-Mobile)

Success Sequence

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Elisabeth Babcock

Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath)

Social Determinants of Health

Mass Incarceration

Barriers to Prisoner Reentry

Sequential Intercept Model (SIM)

Illinois Supreme Court SIM

Race Health Disparities in Chicago

Mental Health Providers by Area in Chicago

Intergenerational Effects of Incarceration

Digital Divide Across Income Groups

Recidivism Rates

Legal Barriers to Employment of Former Prisoners

Economic Cost of Barriers to Employment

Mauricio Miller has spent years upending common beliefs and practices regarding poverty alleviation in the US and throughout the world, which has led him to question some of the central ideas of poverty alleviation. In his book The Alternative and his current work, Miller argues that that solutions to poverty are not actions done to or for the poor, but actions done with the poor. This change in attitude recognizes the innate talent and problem-solving abilities those in long-term poverty possess but are often unable to demonstrate in marketable ways. This week, Miller, other panelists, and myself discuss the value created by such informal economic activity and how to harness it to expand human potential.

Mentioned in the Episode

Articles Written by Mauricio Miller - The Alternative: Creating Upward Mobility by Tapping the Talents of the People Themselves and Investment Capital for All

The Alternative: Most of What You Believe About Poverty Is Wrong

Adam Smith by the Bay

Family Independence Initiative (Now known as UpTogether)

Keller Center at Princeton University

Head Start

Community Independence Initiative

eLab at the Keller Center (Princeton University)

US Small Business Administration (SBA)

Mentioned in the Episode

STEM Definition

July 2020 AEI STEM Survey

STEM Interviews by Anne Kim

Abandoned: America's Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection

Brookings Center for Technology Innovation

United Negro College Fund

STEM Without Fruit

Black Data Processing Association

Hispanic Heritage Foundation

Inroads Program

Fund II Foundation (Fund 2)

First Workings

What would you do if you had a billion dollars? You may have a good idea, but if you don’t, looking to the example of Leon Cooperman wouldn’t be a bad start. After a lengthy, successful career at Goldman Sachs and running his own wealth management company, Leon Cooperman has focused his attention on philanthropy, making daily decisions to benefit the lives of others. In this episode, Cooperman and I discuss how his career and philanthropic efforts illuminate the value of billionaires to society.

Mentioned During the Show

Leon Cooperman Washington Post

Hunter College

University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry

Columbia Business School

Bob Danforth

Union Carbide Compound Interest Tables

Goldman Sachs

Ken Langone

Cooperman College Scholars

Elizabeth Warren

2% wealth tax

Larry Summers

Navient Student Loans

Wealth Tax Across Countries

Bill Gates

Jeff Bezos

Bernie Marcus

First Workings provides multifaceted support for disadvantaged students from New York City, including access to internships, mentorships, and trainings. These mentors often occupy senior positions at major finance, media, health, or law firms, and help participants master both work and the social connections that make advancement possible. But the benefits of these internships also extend to the host firms through the diversity and life perspective they provide.

In this third and final episode of our graduation season Mentoring Miniseries, two First Workings mentors, Dr. Jamilia Sly of Mount Sinai Hospital and Matthew Lustig of Lazard, a leading financial services company, discuss their vocational paths and the benefits of these mentoring opportunities for the students, mentors, and sponsoring organizations.

Mentioned in the Episode

Dr. Jamilia Sly

Matthew Lustig

First Workings

First Workings Mentees’ Experience

McNair Scholars Program

Dr. Wanda Lewis

Dr. Vicky Phares

University of South Florida

Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service

Chase Manhattan Bank

David Rockefeller

Real Estate Lending

Drexel Burnham Lambert

Lazard

Kevin Davis

Mount Sinai

Dr. Eyal Shemesh

First Workings alumni

Noncognitive skills

Code-switching

Lazard New Visions Academy

Mount Sinai’s Center for Scientific Diversity

The First Workings mentoring program is a unique experience for disadvantaged high school students from New York City. First Workings helps students access paid internships, training, and mentoring relationships at major finance, media, health, or law firms. The skills, experience, and social capital resulting from these opportunities are crucial for building access to well-paid career opportunities.

In this second episode of the Mentorship Miniseries, three First Working alumni reflect on their vocational pathways and the benefits afforded to them through their involvement with First Workings. We also discuss “code-switching”, work culture, and social capital.

Mentioned in the Episode

First Workings

First Workings Alumni network

Kevin Davis

Kevin Davis on his Finance Career and the Impact of First Workings

University of California

Viacom CBS (now Paramount Global)

NBC Universal

Warner Media

University of Pennsylvania

Girl Scouts

Girl Scout Leadership Institute

Democracy Prep Public Schools

School of the Future  

Investopedia

Dartmouth

Code-switching

Lazard

MTV Movie & TV Awards

Social capital and internship experiences are crucial to finding opportunities in the labor market and building a successful career. However, many students from disadvantaged backgrounds often lack the networks that can help them find and successfully navigate early work experiences. First Workings is a non-profit organization that seeks to create access and support by connecting youth from disadvantaged New York City communities to paid internships, training, and mentors at firms looking for young, talented, diverse workers.

In this episode, Kevin Davis, Founder and Chairman of First Workings, describes his career in finance and his vision for helping young people find the first rung of career ladders. Together, we discuss the inequalities in opportunity for the young people he serves, and the importance of social capital, relationships at work, diversity in the workplace, and vocation.

Mentioned in the Episode

First Workings

First Workings partners

First Workings alumni network

Kevin Davis Biography

Chicago Board of Trade (merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2007)

Financial Futures

ED&F Man (Commodities division)

Man Group

Man Financial (Man Group brokerage division which was separated from Man Group

in 2007)

London Exchange

Refco’s bankruptcy

NY Stock Exchange

Enron Corporation

New York University (NYU)

U.S. Workforce Demographics

Lazard Frères & Co.

Morgan Stanley

Mount Sinai

Lenox Hill Hospital

U.S. College graduation rates and Drop-Out rates

For college students, professionals young and old, and career changers across the nation and the world, graduation season is filled with hopes, dreams, and a search for direction. Access to mentors, professional networks, and job opportunities is often an essential step in these new vocational journeys.

To commemorate this season of life, Hardly Working will spotlight First Workings, an organization showcasing an innovative approach to mentorship and vocation with underserved youth in New York City. We’ll begin the series speaking with Kevin Davis, the Founder and Chairman of First Workings, about his own professional journey and the ideas behind the organization, followed by discussions with mentors and alumni of the program. Tying this all together is the theme of relationships, which are the key drivers in vocational discernment and career development.

We hope that wherever you are in your vocational journey, you will find these episodes helpful as you discern your next move, contemplate the meaning of where you are, or help others find their direction during this graduation season.

Mentioned in the episode

First Workings

Kevin Davis

The choices we make and who we make them with are the

primary factors shaping how we live. Few people know this better than Robert

Wood. In the final episode of our March miniseries on criminal justice topics,

Robert and I dive into how his perspectives, priorities and choices changed

during his stint in prison, and how his association with the Prison Scholar

Fund led to new beginnings.

Mentioned in the Episode

Terminal Island

Lompoc Prison, California

UNICOR Federal Prison Industries – Scholarship

California Board of Governors Grant for prison education

Judge M. James Lorenz

Allenwood, PA Medium Security Prison

First Step Act

Alpha Sigma Lambda

Prison Scholar Fund

Adams State University (Print Based Prison College Program)

Adams State Online MBA

What is the Universe

In this episode of Hardly Working, Theresa Matheson shares her story of crime, incarceration and change. She highlights the role of community within prison in helping her step away from the beliefs and behaviors of her criminal life and her pursuit of education as the primary means of building a new and better life after incarceration. This episode is also a window into the less-discussed world of corrections facilities for women and their unique challenges and opportunities.

Mentioned in the Episode

California COVID rental relief fund

JVS So-Cal

Worksource

Prison to employment program

Sustainability program Washington Corrections for Women

Freedom Education project of Pugeot Sound

Prison Scholar Fund

Ohio State Correspondence

LSU Correspondence

Tacoma Community College

Sheppard, Gilda | The Evergreen State College

The IF project

The Freedom Project