Dallas-based Aventiv Technologies is the presenting sponsor of the Re-entry Hackathon that started yesterday and continued today in Washington, D.C.
Aventiv, a leader in developing technology solutions to empower rehabilitative justice, is sponsoring a series of hackathons led by justice-impacted experts and advocates, including Aventiv Advisory Board Chairwoman Teresa Hodge, president and CEO of Mission: Launch, in partnership with What’s Next Washington and R3 Score.
The event at the Walter Washington D.C. Convention Center was focused on bringing together a range of stakeholders—public, private, and nonprofit—to innovate re-entry employment solutions for the one-in-two working-aged adults who will have an arrest or conviction record by 2030, according to Aventiv.
“It’s important for Aventiv to be working in, listening to, and learning from justice-impacted communities as we iterate on the growing role of technology to accelerate solutions for reentry,” Margita Thompson, chief communications and community engagement officer at Aventiv Technologies, said in a statement. “We believe that the work of successful re-entry begins at the date of entry, not the day of release, and we want to help drive innovation in this space. Second Chance Month is an important inflection point to hear new ideas, and this hackathon series is critical to creating a coalition of ‘solutionaries’ engaged in public-private collaboration to make reentry more successful for more people.”
Pathways to employment for currently and formerly incarcerated people
The hackathon coincided with Aventiv’s independent Advisory Board quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C., the company said. Aventiv officially announced the formation of the advisory board a little over a year ago to help fulfill its multiyear commitments to transformation.
The company said that members of the advisory board include formerly incarcerated individuals, business leaders, policy experts, and criminal justice reform advocates. They provide strategic advice on transforming Aventiv’s business model and engagement with consumers, justice-impacted families, customers, and state and federal policymakers.
The board has focused on fortifying tablet technology to empower consumers and their communities and building a “Justice Sandbox,” where formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs create content for the Aventiv platform, the company said. These are two of the areas where the board has accelerated Aventiv’s enterprise transformation with meaningful impact for consumers, customers, and community stakeholders, the company said.
Aventiv was represented at the Hackathon by CEO Dave Abel, Chief Product Officer Alex Yeo, SVP for Product Jessica Lust, and board members Teresa Hodge, Lloyd Trotter, and CK Hoffler.
In addition to Mission: Launch and Aventiv, the Hackathon’s featured speakers and facilitators included the U.S. Department of Labor Rapid Collaborative Working Groups led by the Women’s Bureau. The U.S. Department of Labor is joining the hackathon to hear from directly impacted people and experts on pathways to employment for people living with criminal records.
The Washington, D.C. Department of Employment Services will convene discussions focused on expanding access to skilled professional jobs that could lead to homeownership, as well as modernizing employer engagement and cross-agency partnerships to expand opportunities for D.C. residents with arrest or conviction histories.
More resources and conversations
Aventiv and R3 Score said they’re preparing for the release of R3Up, which will provide everyone using Aventiv tablets in correctional facilities access to a job score app designed for their unique needs.
Aventiv said that Washington, D.C. is the second city in six months to host this Hackathon series. Seattle and Phoenix are on the 2023 schedule for future convenings in jurisdictions seeking to bring these conversations and best practices to life.
The fourth location is still being decided, Aventiv said.
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