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(TRENTON, NJ – April 19, 2023) Fourteen men from Northern State Prison and eight women from Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women graduated from the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey’s (AACCNJ) New Jersey Reentry Entrepreneurial Program (NJREP) on March 30, 2023.
The women from Edna Mahan also made history as the first graduates and future business leaders to complete the eight-week program facilitated by Carmen Gates, AACCNJ’s Director of Training and Community Initiatives. Tracey Syphax and CJ Meenan of Open for Business Ventures served as instructors.
The curriculum covered basic business principles such as: The Ethical Entrepreneur, Recognizing Opportunities, Market Research, Product Marketing, Communications, social media, Selling Success, Public Speaking and Image, Management, and The Art of Funding.
Funding for the program was made available in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), Office of Community Engagement and Reintegration Initiative's 2022 New Jersey Locally, Empowered, Accountable, and Determined (NJLEAD) grant.
"The Office of Community Engagement and Reintegration Initiatives is excited to see our NJLEAD partnerships continue to expand to additional NJDOC facilities. It was especially gratifying to be able to bring this initiative to the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility to begin equipping the women with critical tools to be successful entrepreneurs and CEOs of their families and finances. I thank the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, Tracey Syphax, and C.J. Meehan for their advocacy and support,” stated Dr. Darcella Sessomes, Chief of NJDOC’s Division of Programs and Reintegration.
“It is an honor to partner with the New Jersey Department of Corrections,” shared John E. Harmon Sr., IOM, Founder, President and CEO of AACCNJ. “NJREP and NJLEAD are impactful initiatives. In addition to providing previously incarcerated persons a second chance at viable financial productivity and stability, business ownership also affords them the opportunity to create a legacy of generational wealth.”
Sessomes announced that the next cycle of classes will be offered in the southern region at Bayside State Prison and South Woods State Prison.
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