Events.
RBIJ works with our business and advocacy partners to participate in events across the country. See below for a sample of the events we have, and will be, attending. To learn more about speaking at an event, email info@rbij.org.
Breaking Barriers: The Fight for Fair Occupational Licensure
Join us for a 30-minute LinkedIn Live conversation exploring how outdated occupational licensing laws create barriers to employment for skilled workers with records. You'll hear a firsthand story from someone who has navigated these challenges and learn about policy solutions to strengthen the workforce and expand access to opportunity. Featuring experts from JFF's Center for Justice & Economic Advancement and the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, this discussion will highlight the economic and business case for licensing reform.
Learn more and register: https://www.linkedin.com/events/breakingbarriers-thefightforfai7310006380868849665/theater/
Clean Slate Champions: A Community Call for Second Chances
April is Second Chance Month, and The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI) is leading the way in celebrating the transformative power of second chances. By sealing the past, we’re unlocking new doors to opportunity through Clean Slate legislation — and we want YOU to be part of this effort!
Join us for a special community call where we’ll bring together the Clean Slate network to share powerful insights on the impact of Clean Slate policies at both the state and federal levels. Whether you’re active in this work, directly impacted by this issue, or a supporter of Clean Slate, we want you there — this is your chance to connect, learn, and help build momentum so we can all play a role in advancing second chances.
Sheena Meade, CEO of The Clean Slate Initiative, will be joining Clean Slate champions and a powerhouse panel of experts, who will share inspiring stories, valuable knowledge, and exclusive opportunities to take meaningful action in celebrating and supporting Clean Slate.
Reentry Simulation by Social Purpose Corrections + Awake Window & Door Co.
Join us for a unique opportunity to experience what it's like to re-enter society after incarceration, led by those with lived experience.
Awake Window & Door Co and Social Purpose Corrections have teamed up to organize a simulation giving business leaders and community partners a glimpse into the challenges individuals face upon release.
After the simulation, network with others over a delicious dinner.
Talent Beyond Barriers: A Business Exchange on Second Chance Hiring
Join the Second Chance Hiring Alliance, the Greater Washington DC Black Chamber of Commerce and the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice on Tuesday, April 29 from 2 to 6:30pm for “Talent Beyond Barriers: A Business Exchange on Second Chance Hiring.”
This exciting event celebrating Second Chance Month will include panels, expert speakers, and technical assistance/coaching for D.C.-based business owners and employers looking to hire justice-impacted workers. There will also be time for networking and a reception with other attendees including business leaders, employment professionals, policymakers, justice-impacted residents, and workforce development programs.
W&J Summit 2025
Join business leaders, policy experts and justice advocates to explore how corporate action on justice reform can make the workforce healthier, more resilient and ready for the future.
Learn more at: https://www.workforcejusticesummit.org/2025-summit
Second Chance Conference: "In Their Shoes" (A Reentry Simulation)
Join us for a transformative experience! Participate in our Reentry Simulation to gain a profound understanding of the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals. Over a 2-hour session, you'll immerse yourself in the journey to self-sufficiency, navigating the barriers that contribute to feelings of helplessness. This eye-opening activity will simulate a month in the life of someone recently released from prison, highlighting the struggles of fulfilling court obligations while managing day-to-day life.
The Economic Benefits of Expungement: Building Momentum from the Expungement Reform Act of 2025 to Clean Slate
The Center for Criminal Justice Reform (CCJR) at the University of Baltimore Law School invites you to a Town Hall event, "The Economic Benefits of Expungement: Building Momentum from the Expungement Reform Act of 2025 to Clean Slate." This event will bring together community members, business leaders, policymakers, and advocates including directly impacted leaders to celebrate progress in removing barriers to record clearance in Maryland, discuss what’s next in creating employment opportunities for people with criminal records, and highlight the economic benefits of expungement.
The Town Hall will take place on Monday, April 14th from 5:30-8:30 PM in the University of Baltimore Law School's Moot Court Room (1401 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201).
Barriers to Bridges: Clean Slate Laws & Public Health
April is Second Chance Month and April 7-13, 2025, is National Public Health Week, the perfect time to explore how “clean slate” laws promote health, economic stability, and racial equity. Criminal records create lasting barriers to employment, housing, and healthcare—key social determinants of health. A Clean Slate law, which automates record sealing as soon as someone is eligible, is a powerful tool for reducing inequities and strengthening communities.
Register for the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kPkdEnx2Re68faUhFZgy3w#/registration
National Returning Citizens Conference
This transformative two-day event kicks off on the evening of Wednesday, April 9th, with a Welcome Reception. Thursday, April 10th, and Friday, April 11th, will include dynamic plenary sessions, coalition-building efforts, and an awards banquet recognizing individuals in the region making a difference in reentry work. Through keynote addresses and engaging break-out sessions, we will share valuable resources, effective strategies, and inspiring success stories that empower individuals to overcome the challenges of reentry. Together, we will celebrate progress, advocate for reform, and work toward a future that embraces second chances.
Learn more: https://nrcconference.org/
Delaware 4th Annual State Agency Career Fair
Looking for a place to work where you can do good for your community while doing well for yourself? Network with state agencies and learn about opportunities that are available now.
Register to attend this event here: 4th Annual State Agency Career Fair
Book Talk: Sentencing, Second Chances, & Justice with Judge Frederic Block
Join us on April 1 from 6 to 7 pm, (reception to follow) for an engaging conversation with U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block and Dean David Meyer. Block will discuss his latest book, "A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It," which offers a rare glimpse behind the bench as he weighs compassionate release cases under the First Step Act.
RSVP here: https://registration.brooklaw.edu/book-talk/frederic-block
2025 Second Chance Forum: Creating Opportunities for People, Employers, and Communities
The Second Chance Forum will bring together employers, academics, business leaders, policymakers and justice-impacted thought leaders for discussions on creating pathways to sustainable employment for individuals with criminal records.
Learn more here: https://www.darden.virginia.edu/ibis/events/second-chance
Talent Forward: Advancing an Engaged, Agile, and Resilient Workforce
At Talent Forward, we’ll dive into key issues and share the latest solutions on pressing topics such as:
What barriers to workforce participation are the top priorities to solve? Where are we stifling growth, opportunity, and prosperity?
How can we ensure learning, skills development, and career-pathing meets the needs of both employers and individuals and their families?
When disruption happens, how resilient of an economy, workforce, and culture have we created?\
Learn more and register: https://events.uschamberfoundation.org/talentforward2025/6191528?ref=connect01&utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=&utm_term=20250128_Foundation_The_Connector_January&utm_content=1/31/2025
Talent Management Reloaded USA
At Talent Management Reloaded USA, HR and talent management professionals will come together to showcase cutting-edge strategies, share inspiring success stories and explore innovative tools to elevate talent acquisition, leadership development, and employee engagement. Discover how to ignite a culture of innovation, drive transformation, and shape the future of work for thriving, empowered teams.
Join the most dynamic and content-rich networking event for talent leaders, unlocking the potential of tomorrow’s workforce in the USA!
Learn more and register: https://talent-management-reloaded.us/
Beyond the Bars Conference 2025
The Beyond the Bars Conference is an annual student-driven interdisciplinary conference on mass incarceration held at Columbia University. Each year the conference brings together students, faculty, activists, advocates, practitioners, those who have experienced and/or been impacted by incarceration, community members and more to connect, galvanize, and deepen the work of building justice and equity and ending mass incarceration.
Learn more and register: https://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/content/beyond-bars-conference
We the Pizza: Slangin' Pies and Savin' Lives
The Wharton Coalition for Equity and Opportunity and the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania invite you to a special evening Book Talk on March 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM for the newly released We the Pizza: Slangin' Pies and Savin' Lives, the powerful story of Down North Pizza, a Philadelphia-based pizzeria that has earned national acclaim—including a prestigious James Beard award—for transforming lives and creating second chances.
Learn more and register: https://web.cvent.com/event/90526cfe-be05-475d-bbbe-44d8206cfef3/summary
W&J Summit London
Building on the success of RBIJ’s Workforce & Justice Summits in the US, we are delighted to bring this event to the UK for the first time. This landmark Summit will bring together leaders and innovators to explore pioneering strategies in workforce development and justice reform, uniquely tailored to the challenges and opportunities in the UK.
Learn more at: https://www.workforcejusticesummit.org/
Georgia's Workforce Conference
Join us for our two-day Georgia’s Workforce Conference to learn about innovative strategies and programs Georgia companies, communities and organizations are using to address talent development needs and build long-term workforce pipelines.
Georgia’s Workforce Conference will bring together partners in workforce development, education, business and economic development to explore promising practices and emerging ideas to solve talent challenges around the state.
SHRM Inclusion 2024
There’s a reason why SHRM INCLUSION has sold out the last two years. The HR industry has recognized it as a catalyst that brings together an incredibly diverse group of attendees, speakers, thought leaders and solutions providers who all have the same goal:
To protect, prioritize and (em)power the workforce to create better workplaces where all employees act with civility, are made to feel as if they belong and have opportunities to thrive.
Join us for INCLUSION 2024 on Nov. 4–7 in the Denver metro area, and virtually, as we press on in our journey… together.
Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) Talent Symposium
We are excited to invite you to the WOS Talent Symposium, an exclusive event tailored for senior HR professionals dedicated to advancing talent acquisition and retention strategies through the power of upskilling.
Join industry leaders and experts as they share cutting-edge insights and innovative practices to enhance employee productivity and manage talent in today's dynamic workforce.
Next Generation Leadership C-Suite Event
Join us for an in-depth, thought provoking summit to discuss the future of leadership and its impact on workforce development, sustainability and acceleration of US Manufacturing at the Next Generation Leadership C-suite event hosted at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. This event, set against the backdrop of innovation and excellence, is designed to explore the dynamic landscape of leadership in the 21st century and the evolving needs of the workforce, sustainability strategies and digital transformations. Discover forward-thinking perspectives on leadership as industry thought leaders, experts, and young leaders present the key components of leadership of the future and what varies from what we know today.
Save the date for this event, where innovation and education converge. Join us on October 28-29, 2024, as we collectively shape the future of leadership as a diverse community.
Upon registration, you will receive further details of the event and logistics. Hotels have been blocked for attendees close to the site.
Aspen Opportunity Youth Forum Cross-Site Convening
The Opportunity Youth Forum is a network of over forty urban, rural, and tribal communities seeking to scale multiple reconnection pathways that achieve better outcomes in education and employment for opportunity youth.
This event is tailored for the members of our Opportunity Youth Forum and is by invitation-only. If you would like to learn more about the Opportunity Youth Forum, please email mike.swigert@aspeninstitute.org
NRWC 2024 Annual Conference
The 2024 NRWC Annual Conference will be held October 15 – 17 in Denver, Colorado at the Hilton Denver City Center in the heart of downtown.Early Bird Registration will be available through August 16th.
The NRWC Annual Conference brings together some of the leading voices from the reentry workforce field: business leaders, practitioners, government representatives, academics, advocates, individuals with lived experience, and other stakeholders. Participants engage in a variety of learning and networking opportunities to increase their knowledge about leading practices and policies, sharpen their skills to implement effective programming, and build strategic connections that will go beyond the conference. Regardless of your role within the reentry workforce ecosystem, this convening is for you!
Moral Money Summit Americas
Join leading investors, corporate executives, and policymakers at the 5th edition of Financial Times’ Moral Money Summit Americas for a wide-ranging exploration of the key themes in the sustainable business and finance agenda. This two-day event will be packed with compelling debate and powerful insights on issues that no leader can afford to ignore.
ACT Workforce Summit
What is the ACT Workforce Summit?
Every year, the ACT Workforce Summit attracts leaders in workforce and economic development, secondary and postsecondary education, government, and business to connect and learn about the latest trends and strategies in talent and workforce development.
Registration is now open. Deadline to register is September 10.
Ohio Chamber of Commerce 2024 DEI Summit
A summit that convenes leaders in the DEI space and Ohio businesses interested in improving Ohio's inclusivity, diversity and equity within the greater business community. Expected audience includes DEI leaders, elected officials, and business managers and executives.
Reimagining Futures: Second Chance Employment Forum
The Second Chance Employment Forum is a high-profile half-day event bringing together private sector employers, thought leaders, policymakers, and reintegrated individuals. The program will feature experts discussing the business case for second chance hiring, key policymakers addressing relevant legislation, and business leaders sharing best practices regarding second chance. Additionally, beneficiaries of second chance hiring will share their transformative experiences. The event will conclude with the launch of the Second Chance Hiring Resource Database and a reception for attendees.
2024 Youth Days in Washington D.C.
Get ready for the National Youth Employment Coalition 2024 Youth Days in Washington, D.C., where we’re uniting youth and practitioners from across the nation to advocate for Opportunity Youth at the federal level. This year’s event features a dynamic blend of virtual preparation and in-person engagement in Washington, D.C. Whether you’re new to policy and advocacy or a seasoned advocate, you don’t want to miss this event!
Inclusive Hiring with Confidence
Are you interested in Second Chance Hiring but unsure where to begin? You’re not alone. Many businesses want to embrace this transformative practice but feel uncertain about the first steps.
Join RBIJ for “Inclusive Hiring with Confidence,” a special webinar designed to equip businesses with practical strategies and resources for successfully integrating justice-impacted individuals into their workforce.
Featuring a dynamic panel of reentry experts and seasoned second-chance employers, we’ll hear about innovative reentry resources and low-risk recruitment strategies.
RSVP by June 17 to secure your spot.
