New Pivot Program to Change Lives of D.C. Returning Citizens

Georgetown University has launched a program to transform the lives of a highly select group of District residents released from local correctional facilities who show strong potential to become successful leaders and role models in their communities.

Through a combination of education and partnership with local employers, the university’s new Pivot Program aims to prepare participants for positions as both entrepreneurial leaders and productive employees.

The Pivot Program represents a collaboration among Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, Georgetown College, and the McDonough School of Business, with the support from the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs and a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency. In addition, the D.C. Department of Employment Services will provide stipends to our participants.

Each year, roughly 5,000 individuals are released from D.C. correctional facilities, and less than half of them find sustainable employment. According to Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, this perpetuates a cycle of crime and incarceration, with devastating effects on families, communities, and the broader economy.

Georgetown designed the Pivot Program to break that cycle and recapture this untapped human capital. This transition program offers a non-credit-bearing certificate in business and entrepreneurship designed specifically for a cohort of up to 20 returning citizens, to be known as Pivot Fellows.

“Our approach is based on the premise that a combination of higher education and employment – together with the social, emotional, and intellectual development that takes place in a university environment – will succeed in preparing returning citizens for positions as both entrepreneurial leaders and productive employees,” said Pietra Rivoli, vice dean of Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.  

Over the course of 10 months, Pivot Fellows will engage in a mix of classes taught by faculty from the Georgetown McDonough School of Business and Georgetown College. They also will participate in internships at local employers. For the first six weeks, they will attend customized classes Monday through Friday at the university’s conveniently located downtown School of Continuing Studies. Starting in January, they will attend classes Mondays and Wednesdays and will intern with local employer partners Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, they will work on developing their business ventures or assist others in doing so at the new Georgetown Venture Lab, located at WeWork White House.

Toward the end of the program, fellows may choose to enter either an employment or entrepreneurship track. Those opting to create their own business will be provided with work space, business coaching, legal support, and access to resources. Fellows seeking permanent employment will be placed with local businesses as interns with the goal of receiving offers of full-time employment.

“The principal goal of the Pivot Program is employment readiness,” said Marc M. Howard, director of Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. “This program is designed to prepare participants for a range of outcomes like sustainable employment, owning and operating their own businesses, and/or continuing their education.”

The program will teach the fundamentals of business and entrepreneurship, as well as literature, economics, philosophy, and civic engagement. It also will cover professional and life skills, such as personal finance, career planning, business communications, business etiquette, public speaking, self-advocacy, and conflict resolution.

“Our emphasis on entrepreneurship is intentional,” said Alyssa Lovegrove, managing director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative at Georgetown McDonough. “While fellows are not required to start a business, they are taught how to adopt and apply an entrepreneurial mindset and to feel a greater sense of empowerment. We believe this increased confidence will result in a more positive career trajectory and an enhanced ability to respond to social and regulatory barriers.”

“The Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) funding commitment is a signal that Pivot is an innovative project that will transform both our participants’ lives and the national conversation about returning citizens,” says Joshua Miller, managing director of the Georgetown Pivot Program. “Georgetown and MBDA recognize that formerly incarcerated women and men deserve a second chance. We all benefit when these talented people find useful endeavors whereby they can serve their neighbors and enrich our city.”