Prison Tech Pipeline
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The Last Mile program transforms inmates into software developers while addressing tech's diversity challenges. Through coding education and post-release job placement, they're creating pathways for rehabilitation while diversifying the tech workforce.
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Program Impact & Success:
- Graduated approximately 800 people
- Zero program graduates have returned to prison
- Compared to typical 65% recidivism rate
- Operating in about 15 prisons
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Educational Approach:
- 2-3 year coding program
- Teaching JavaScript, MongoDB, and other technologies
- 20-30 people per cohort
- Focuses on both technical and personal development
- Students learn logical thinking and impulse control through coding
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Career Outcomes:
- Graduates placed at major companies like Slack and eBay
- Creates viable career paths despite criminal records
- First exposure to black programmers for many in their communities
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Program Origins:
- Started by Chris Redlitz after speaking about entrepreneurship at San Quentin
- Initially focused on entrepreneurship, evolved to coding
- Secured support from:
- Apple
- Trump administration
- Koch brothers
- Other wealthy donors
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Diversity Impact:
- Addresses lack of black representation in tech
- Creates role models in underserved communities
- Graduates become first programmers many youth meet who look like them
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Rehabilitation Benefits:
- Teaches logical thinking
- Improves impulse control
- Provides marketable skills
- Creates economic opportunities post-release
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.