The Step Into Tech (SIT) Business Accelerator recently welcomed a variety of leaders who elevated the opportunities and needs of equitable hiring. The SIT Business Accelerator is a six-week fellowship that works to inform, educate and influence equitable hiring practices through peer-to-peer learning and resource engagement. The course is a compliment to the SIT Trainee Program and works hand in hand to train both the employer and system-impacted job candidates on Fair and Second Chance Hiring practices.

National economic strategist and author, Jeff Korzenik, joined its second session, "The Economics of Fair Chance Hiring." Korzenik presented on the business case for equitable hiring - "Untapped Talent and Unexpected Opportunity." Korzenik, a national expert in criminal justice reform, who recently authored the book, "Untapped Talent: Why Second Chance Hiring Works for Your Business and Your Community," shared his experiences with national business leaders in their quest to get it right on fair and equitable hiring practices.

Speaking on "Convictions, Imprisonment and Lost Earnings," Ames Grawert, Lead Council at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, brought to light the financial snowball effect of system involvement and provided a deep dive into the impact of mass incarceration on our national economy. Grawert is a national speaker and also works to lobby for criminal justice reform at the state and federal levels alongside national partners like JPMorgan Chase, Meta and Microsoft.

This session also welcomed Cat Bones of Bones Financial Consulting. Bones works with our employer partners to facilitate a micro session for peer-to-peer learning. Bones engages hiring leaders in the "Talent Lifecycle," rooted in lessons from SHRM's "Getting Talent Back to Business Guide," an opportunity for our partners to learn more about how to employ policy and systems changes within their own companies with the goal of creating a more equitable hiring partner.