Posted on January 14, 2026
0 COMMENTS
Greetings, RCHEP community,
I’m reaching out to share some exciting news and an important leadership opportunity for formerly incarcerated individuals and to ask for your support in amplifying it across your networks.
Just today, Jobs for the Future (JFF) officially announced the four states we selected to launch Fair Chance to Advance State Action Networks: Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon! We warmly invite you to share this announcement with your networks.
As part of the big announcement, we are opening the application for the four Directly Impacted Advisory Boards (DIAB) that will serve in a formal advisory role to their respective state network.
This application will be open for just 11 days – from today through January 25th – so we need your help to make sure it reaches those who may be interested quickly!!
Engagement with DIAB is a required activity for each of our four FC2A State Action Networks, and the boards are designed to ensure that the systems change strategies and efforts mobilized by each state network remain grounded in the lived experiences of people directly impacted by incarceration in that state.
About the Opportunity
- Deadline: January 25, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
- Application link: https://forms.office.com/r/4K8spXubmT
Through the DIABs, directly impacted leaders will:
- Serve in a decision-informing role on a formal advisory body within an FC2A State Action Network.
- Help shape network strategies, policy priorities, and coordinated action plans, ensuring that reforms to education, workforce, and reentry systems are grounded in real-world experience.
- Collaborate with cross-sector leaders through regular advisory meetings and working sessions.
- Access leadership development, learning opportunities, and peer connection supported by JFF and our partners.
Compensation and Commitment
DIAB members will serve a 12‑month term from April 1, 2026, to April 1, 2027, and will:
- Participate in two fully funded in-person events:
- The National Conference for Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP) in Cleveland, Ohio (April 8–10, 2026).
- A half-day State Action Network Summit in their home state (date and location to be determined).
- Commit approximately 20 hours total over the year, including onboarding, reviewing state planning materials, quarterly DIAB meetings, and quarterly engagement with the State Action Network steering committee.
DIAB members will receive a $2,000 stipend, paid in two installments at the start and end of the term.
Eligibility
The DIAB opportunity is open to individuals who:
- Have lived experience with incarceration in Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, or Oregon, and currently reside in that same state.
- Can engage constructively with cross-sector stakeholders (such as corrections, workforce systems, and policymakers) while maintaining confidentiality and professional conduct.
- Are able to travel and participate in the in-person events listed above.
- Can participate in quarterly virtual meetings and review planning materials shared via Google Docs.
- Are committed to advancing fair chance education, employment, and reentry outcomes.
JFF will prioritize boards whose collective membership reflects a broad range of experiences across corrections, postsecondary education, reentry, and employment systems, as well as diverse identities (including race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, and family status).
How You Can Help
We strongly encourage you to share this opportunity widely across your networks that connect with formerly incarcerated individuals, especially those with ties to Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon.
Your support in amplifying this application will help us identify individuals who bring especially valuable, informed, and insightful perspectives shaped by lived experience with these systems.
Thank you for your time and partnership!
Warmly,
Jenna Dreier
Director
Jobs for the Future (JFF)
Reach me at: jdreier@jff.org
