My conviction makes me who I am.
And it makes me more than qualified.
For this job and every other.
It isn’t a belief. It’s knowledge.
This isn’t my second chance.
It’s your first:
To benefit from my experience.
To learn from my perspective.
To understand what desire truly is.
I want more than to be redeemed.
I want to redefine.
I want to change your mind.
About what you need and what I have to give.
To this team, this field, this community.
This is where hard work comes from.
This is how potential is discovered.
This is why opportunity is given.
This is when you see.
This is what conviction looks like.

ABOUT

JUMP is more than a program, more than a leg up, more than a chance for something better. JUMP is a bridge between people and businesses, between scraping by and flying, between our past and future relationship to justice involvement in America.

JUMP stands for The Justice and Upward Mobility Project. At its core, it’s all the work needed to scale and mainstream second and first chances for people impacted by the justice system. It does this by building, developing, and connecting justice-impacted talent pools to companies in sports, entertainment, and business seeking to strengthen and diversify their workforce.
JUMP also engages in policy advocacy to remove barriers to opportunity; leads media and narrative work to shift norms and tackle deep cultural stigmas; and builds coalitions in business and education to foster learning communities and support systems.
JUMP stands for The Justice and Upward Mobility Project. At its core, it’s all the work needed to scale and mainstream second and first chances for people impacted by the justice system. It does this by building, developing, and connecting justice-impacted talent pools to companies in sports, entertainment, and business seeking to strengthen and diversify their workforce.
JUMP also engages in policy advocacy to remove barriers to opportunity; leads media and narrative work to shift norms and tackle deep cultural stigmas; and builds coalitions in business and education to foster learning communities and support systems.

WHY JUMP?

Today more than 80 Million Americans have an arrest record. And there are more than 44,000 legal barriers that prevent them from accessing education, employment, and the middle class economy. The things people really need to survive, let alone thrive.

These barriers and the stigma associated with them perpetuate a narrative that prevents justice impacted people from rewriting their futures. And, it prevents companies from fully tapping into the talent pools that will help their workforce thrive.
JUMP exists to change all of that. By democratizing opportunity. By catalyzing access to education, employment, and economic mobility so that new stories can be written. By telling those new stories. By developing businesses into critical agents for change in a way that deeply benefits their teams and their bottom line.

OUR ROOTS

JUMP’s connection to the Jumpman is no accident.

This initiative was founded by Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand Advisory Board, a division of Nike Inc. He has garnered international respect for his reputation of being an inspirational leader who understands how to build innovative, cultural and premium businesses in the world of sport and lifestyle establishing the standard for athletic luxury footwear and apparel.

Miller was president of the Jordan Brand from 1999-2006 and again from 2012-2021.  From 2006-2012 he served as President and Alternate Governor of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Prior to joining Nike in 1997, Larry served as President for Jantzen, Inc., a Manager for Kraft General Foods, and Assistant Controller at Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc.

This initiative was founded by Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand Advisory Board, a division of Nike Inc. He has garnered international respect for his reputation of being an inspirational leader who understands how to build innovative, cultural and premium businesses in the world of sport and lifestyle establishing the standard for athletic luxury footwear and apparel.

Miller was president of the Jordan Brand from 1999-2006 and again from 2012-2021.  From 2006-2012 he served as President and Alternate Governor of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Prior to joining Nike in 1997, Larry served as President for Jantzen, Inc., a Manager for Kraft General Foods, and Assistant Controller at Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc.

His memoir, JUMP, My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom, was published by William Morrow/ HarperCollins in 2022. Co-authored with his daughter Laila Lacy, JUMP details Miller's ascent from the streets of West Philadelphia to some of the highest distinctions of the corporate world.

He is currently on the board of The Just Trust, which houses JUMP.

His memoir, JUMP, My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom, was published by William Morrow/ HarperCollins in 2022. Co-authored with his daughter Laila Lacy, JUMP details Miller's ascent from the streets of West Philadelphia to some of the highest distinctions of the corporate world.

He is currently on the board of The Just Trust, which houses JUMP.

How We Work

Inspired by Larry Miller's powerful story of redemption and success, JUMP seeks to drive impact through four strategic pillars:

  1. Education & Employment:
    Creating education and workforce development programs that catalyze pathways to livable wage employment and economic mobility for youth and adults who suffer from justice system involvement.
  2. Advocacy and Policy: 

    Working with local, state, and federal policy makers to advance legislation supporting education, workforce development and public/private partnerships that support individuals facing barriers to employment as a result of an arrest history
  3. Media & Narrative: 

    Reshaping public narratives around what it means to have an arrest record through powerful storytelling, film and media campaigns
  4. Coalition Building: 

    Building localized coalitions that mobilize educational institutions, communities, and businesses to create First and Second Chance employment ecosystems
Through this comprehensive approach, we're not just democratizing opportunity – we're transforming how society views talent, justice, and human potential.
jump’s managing director

ken oliver

Chief Innovation Officer, The Just Trust

Ken Oliver is a transformative leader and innovator driving social impact at the intersection of business and justice reform. As Managing Director of JUMP (Justice & Upward Mobility Project) and Chief Innovation Officer at The Just Trust, he leverages the influence of sports, business, and entertainment to spark change and promote public safety.

Before joining The Just Trust, Ken led corporate social responsibility at Checkr, Inc., serving as Vice President,  and Executive Director of Checkr’s corporate foundation, Checkr.org. His work centers on narrative change, talent development, corporate training, and advancing JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) and public policy.

Ken’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience. After nearly 24 years in prison—more than 9 of which were spent in solitary confinement—he fought and won a landmark civil rights lawsuit in collaboration with Stanford University and Mayer Brown that secured his release in 2019. Soon after, he transitioned from paralegal work to state policy leadership, and in 2020, co-founded and led a nonprofit organization that secured a historic $28.5M investment from California to build the nation’s first residential tech training campus for justice-impacted individuals.

His thought leadership has been featured in Newsweek, World Economic Forum, Reuters, HR Daily Advisor, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Fast Company, Forbes, FOX News, Scripps News, and Inc. Magazine. Ken Oliver’s story embodies the power of innovation, determination, and the pursuit of lasting social change.

Partners & Investors

program partners

Investors

The following people and organizations supported the early launch of JUMP
coming soon!

about the just trust

The Just Trust is a catalytic philanthropy that aggregates and deploys resources to criminal justice reform and public safety innovation in the United States. The organization – made up of The Just Trust for Education (a 501(c)(3)) and The Just Trust for Action (a 501(c)(4)) – curates investments from a diverse bench of donors, and nimbly deploys them to a robust network of partners and initiatives working at the local, state, and national level in pursuit of a smaller, more humane system of justice and safety. Learn more at TheJustTrust.org.

GET INVOLVED

DONATE

Become an Official Partner of JUMP:

There are so many ways to partner with JUMP.
Please reach out if:

You would like to donate to JUMP
You are a company that would like to host an apprentice
You are a community organization that works with returning citizens and would like to nominate someone for the apprenticeship program
You are a business interested in second chance hiring, or that wants to be connected to other businesses in your region to build a network around second chance hiring.

MEDIA