Mission: Launch is excited to be associated with this year’s Social Innovation Festival 2015 (SIF) presented by DC+Acumen, Hatch International and Social Solutions; the associated events will be held at various venues in Washington, DC from September 9-13. The theme of SIF is Creating Social Innovation Through Tech & Entrepreneurship.

On Saturday, September 12, 2015, Teresa Hodge, Mission: Launch Co-Founder and Director of Strategy & Innovation, will be a participating panelist in the "Tech, Hip-Hop and The New Jim Crow" discussion; this panel will include: local changemakers, nationally renowned thought leaders and spoken word/Hip-Hop artists providing their artistic expression. The discussion will focus on using technology and hip-hop as angles to combat many of the social injustices resulting from America’s longtime obsession with mass incarceration.

Teresa Y. Hodge, a passionate advocate for people with criminal connections, is committed to reducing the lasting harm caused by prison. It was a 70-month federal prison sentence for a white-collar, non-violent, first-time offense that introduced her first-hand to the justice system and mass incarceration in America.

Upon coming home, she and her daughter Laurin Hodge co-founded Mission: Launch, Inc., a non-profit focused on introducing technology and entrepreneurship to previously incarcerated individuals as a way of ensuring self-sufficiency. Additionally, the organization manages the Rebuilding Re-Entry Coalition, a citizen-led movement committed to creating a more just and inclusive society for returning citizens (a person who exits prison or jail). The Coalition and its members desire to leverage its efforts within the Washington DC region to ensure re-entry is more efficient and safer for everyone.

As the Director of Strategy & Innovation for Mission: Launch, Inc., Teresa plays a critical role in building strategic partnerships and establishing social enterprise models for greater reach and sustainability. Prior experience as an entrepreneur allowed her to maximize her time in prison looking for best practices to not only help her and others get back on their feet upon release. Hodge is a certified life coach, with a specialty in prison re-entry.

Register now for this event convening on the 3^rd floor of Impact Hub DC, where our organization is proudly headquartered.