Upcoming Events

Thought leadership as advocacy for the formerly incarcerated in North Texas

Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Administration Conference Tower, ACT 301

Panelists

Sharon McKinney

McKinney is executive director of the Texas Incarcerated Families Association.  She teaches the New Family Workshop for families whose loved ones are entering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Parole Workshop for families whose loved ones are approaching parole eligibility.

McKinney is system-impacted and has a passion for criminal justice reform. She is a certified mental health peer specialist, a certified reentry peer specialist and a certified equine therapy riding instructor.

Andre Johnson

Johnson is the director for the Tarrant County Reentry First Stop Center, a division of Cornerstone Assistance Network. He is known for his strong leadership, the ability to forge collaborations, his ingenuity and his measurable program deliverables. For the past 18 years, Johnson has created programs, spearheaded special projects and provided staff development for Workforce Solution Boards in Fort Worth, and Tarrant County and across the country, including Homeless Prevention, Fatherhood and Children, and Adult Reentry.

While serving as the special projects administrator for Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, he worked with the county’s homeless service providers spearheading Project WISH (Workforce Innovate Solutions to Homelessness) and built a 28-employer consortium that employed over 500 homeless individuals in two years with an 87% retention rate, earning him the Jodie Spiegel Enhancement of Customer Service Award by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals in Washington, DC.

As director of Reentry services, Johnson and his team led the First Stop Center to a 21% recidivism rate compared to Tarrant County’s 57% recidivism while creating and organizing a collaboration that led to Tarrant County’s largest reentry job and resource fair. Participating employers have employed more than  440 job seekers in the last four years.

Johnson is also chairman for the Tarrant County’s Fatherhood Coalition, an ordained pastor and a program development consultant.

Rick Davis

Rick Davis is executivedirector of Chains of Grace Ministries, which provides reentry help to persons coming from long-term incarceration.