AUDIO: Fair Chance Employment

Culturati Team
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

Joe DeLoss, Founder, Hot Chicken Takeover
Jeff Carroll, Vice President, Humanim, Inc.
Moderator: Cristina Tzintzún, Executive Director, Jolt

More businesses and organizations are adopting Fair Chance hiring practices, prioritizing an applicant’s potential over his or her conviction record. How can any employer promoting diversity and inclusion apply the practices of Fair Chance employers? In this session two employers with thriving businesses consider the struggles and rewards of Fair Chance hiring. Cristina Tzintzún, executive director of Jolt, co-founded the Workers Defense Project at the age of 24 and has helped pass half a dozen local and state laws protecting the rights of workers. She moderates a conversation with Joe DeLoss (Hot Chicken Takeover) and Jeff Carroll (Details Deconstruction) about how they recruit, train and support employees, provide opportunities for advancement, and build trust.


Listen to full session here:


Joe DeLoss, Founder, Hot Chicken Takeover

Joe DeLoss is building a fried chicken empire by changing perspectives on HR and workforce development.

Though his career began as an investment bank analyst, Joe quickly left the cubicle to combine his passions for entrepreneurship and community impact. With ten years and handful of start-ups behind him, Joe has struck a nerve with his newest adventure, Hot Chicken Takeover. The restaurant concept sells Nashville-style hot chicken in an environment reminiscent of a family reunion.

To support rapid expansion of the concept, Joe relies on an unconventional workforce and management system. The majority of his team members have established criminal resumes alongside their professional ones — a message Hot Chicken Takeover isn’t shy on communicating. For Joe, this approach is far from charitable; it’s the lynchpin of HCT’s success.

Joe speaks frequently on culture and HR. His message has carried across the country, ranging from BusinessWeek to the TODAY Show to adjunct instruction at The Ohio State University.

Jeff Carroll, Vice President, Humanim, Inc.

eff Carroll is a Vice President at Humanim, a workforce development and human service nonprofit. He is the creator of Details Deconstruction, a social enterprise of Humanim designed to employ individuals with social barriers to employment. Starting in 2012 with 8 employees, Details and resent spin out sister enterprise, Brick and Board, now generate $4,000,000 annually and have employed 165 people over the last 5 years. 75% of those employed were previously incarcerated. This initiative has spawned opportunities to address economic, social and racial justice matters at the community level. Along with the larger Humanim team, Jeff has participated in inclusiveness measures to afford access, opportunity, and equity for all of Humanim’s employees and especially those returning from incarceration. Jeff has led efforts to successfully create public private partnership in Baltimore to leverage millions of public dollars to eliminate blight and maximize job creation by utilizing deconstruction. Partnering with City, State and Federal agencies, Jeff and the team at Humanim are attracting both public, philanthropic, and private funding to take these efforts to scale and expand to other Cities.

Jeff serves on the board of directors for Maryland Works, is a 2015 Maryland Innovator of the Year, is an international speaker and presenter and holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He lives with his wife Heather in Baltimore, MD.

Cristina Tzintzún, Executive Director, Jolt

Cristina Tzintzún is a nationally recognized advocate and leader in the Latino community. She was named “Hero of the New South” by and hailed by the for her success with Workers Defense Project (WDP). At just 24, Cristina co-founded WDP and helped pass half a dozen local and state laws to protect the rights of hundreds of thousands of workers, guaranteeing them higher wages and safer working conditions. Cristina was also named a “changemaker” by the , and her work has been featured on NPR, USA Today, Univision and MSNBC’s Up Late with Alec Baldwin. Cristina is the author of the book “Presente! Latino Immigrant Voices in the Struggle for Racial Justice” and other works on race, class and gender.

Culturati: Magazine

Culture powers performance

Culturati Team

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Culturati is a community of CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors and other c-suite leaders who practice & study culture building and share our play books.

Culturati: Magazine

Culture powers performance

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