This year, SHRM has announced a new initiative called "Getting Talent Back to Work". This national initiative promotes the hiring of ex-offenders with criminal records. Creating employment opportunities for the formerly incarcerated provides employers with a larger pool of applicants and helps reduce recidivism.
Lack of stable employment is a key driver of recidivism. WNW works to break this cycle of unemployment by collaborating directly with employers to explore and reduce restrictions on hiring Formerly-Incarcerated Talent (FIT). Changing hiring processes will take time and effort on all sides. Our goal is to reduce the 27% unemployment rater for those with conviction histories to 10% within five years.
Susan Mason – Executive Director and Co-Founder – What’s Next Washington
Susan is a founding board member and founding executive director of What's Next Washington (WNW). She is a national advocate within organizations that seek to empower and improve the lives of the formerly incarcerated by addressing recidivism, bias, and building leaders to advocate for regulatory, policy, and law reforms.
Susan is active in the re-entry community and sits on the Washington Voting Justice Coalition (WVJC). She is a National Council of Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Women and Girls 2019 Reimagining Communities Fellow and was a 2018 Just Leadership USA (JLUSA) Fellow. Susan is a sought after speaker with a passion is long-game think tanks, organizing within and without difficult relationships, and building a nationwide base of support for all formerly incarcerated persons to participate and be heard.
Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Susan was employed in the mortgage industry as a loan officer and then as a foreclosure-defense consultant for 15 years. Susan Mason was incarcerated in federal prison from 2001 -2003.
Roz Solomon – Co-founder and Board President – What's Next Washington
Roz Solomon has worked in the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors as a founder, leader, and advocate for over 25 years. She works across ideologies and professions on a range of social issues including prison re-entry, community relations, early learning, workplace health, and redefining prosperity and well-being.
Roz is a founding board member and officer of What's Next Washington (WNW). Prior to joining WNW, she was a Principal Member of the Athena Group consulting firm, and a member of the Rethinking Prosperity project at the University of Washington Center for Communications and Civic Engagement. In 2010, Roz co-founded the Washington Business Alliance with David Giuliani and Howard Behar. Before starting the Business Alliance, Roz was the principal of IA Consulting where she developed and implemented the Seattle/King County Board of Health healthcare reform project. Prior to these positions, Roz served as an administrative law judge for the State of Washington, taught at the Seattle University law school as an adjunct professor, and had a corporate litigation practice in Seattle, Washington. Roz currently serves on the boards of the Children’s Music Foundation, and the Seattle Colleges District Foundation.
Roz has spent most of her life in Washington State where she enjoys hiking, travel, and spending weekends in the San Juan Islands. Roz has a J.D. from the University of Washington and a B. A. from Wellesley College.
Roz Solomon Susan Mason
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Price (includes breakfast):
Early Registration for SIHRMA Member: $18
Early Registration Non-Member: $21
Student & Displaced Worker: $10
Early registration ends the Monday prior to the event at 5:00 pm.
Regular Registration and Walk In: $25
Refund Policy:
We will gladly issue refunds for event registrations that are canceled before the early registration deadline. We need to make venue arrangements and order meals in advance and are unable to refund registration fees after the deadline. Substitutions are always welcome. Please have your substitute inform the registration desk that they are attending in your place.
