CCT Blog

Center for Community Transitions - Charlotte NC

CCT Talks Second Chance Employment, Changing Criminal Justice Narratives with Queen City Nerve

Most of the criminal justice conversations in our community are about policing and law enforcement, not on reentry, transition and reducing recidivism. But all of these topics are connected because issues with police result in pathways to incarceration.   In March, Executive Director Patrice Funderburg sat down with Queen City Nerve Editor Ryan Pitkin to talk…

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Patrice Funderburg Talks Fair Chance Hiring, Bojangles Partnership on Levelset Podcast 

The successful second chance partnership between the Center for Community Transitions and Bojangles was one of the highlights of Fair Chance Conversations, a Levelset podcast featuring Executive Director Patrice Funderburg. Levelset works with companies, such as Bojangles, to minimize barriers to attracting and retaining high-quality talent. Team members Matt Joyce, Alex Love and Salomon Moreno-Rosa…

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Patrick Diamond

CCT Welcomes Patrick Diamond as Interim Development Director 

Patrick Diamond, a longtime and active member of Charlotte’s business, nonprofit and arts communities, has joined the Center for Community Transitions team as interim development director. For the next six months, he’ll focus on major gifts to raise $1 million for our agency through foundations, corporations, individuals and the faith community. Part of Patrick’s efforts…

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Patrice Funderburg, New CCT Executive Director

Executive Director Patrice Funderburg Reflects on 2020, Highlights Path for CCT’s Future

When I joined CCT as the agency’s first Black Executive Director in January 2020, I was excited about the symbolic transition after Myra Clark had successfully led the organization for over three decades. With an increasing national focus on criminal justice, I anchored my leadership focus on meeting the team and learning about and assessing…

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Jeff Korzenik, Chief Economist at Fifth Third Bank

Chief Economist: Hiring Second Chance Employees is Worthwhile Business Community Investment

As birth rates decline and the labor market tightens, the “richest pool of potential” in the economy are people who have been touched by the justice system, according to Jeff Korzenik, chief economist at Fifth Third Bank. Korzenik is a national advocate for second chance employment and author of “Untapped Talent: How Second Chance Hiring…

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2nd Chance Virtual Event

Second Chance Employment Summit

Ending Economic and Social Inequalities Takes Collective Community Effort If Charlotte wants to become a city without economic and social inequalities, the whole community – both public and private sectors – must disrupt the cycle of incarceration by reevaluating hiring practices and supporting second chance employment. That was the consensus among the 100-plus employers, workforce…

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February 25th, Romana Brant Day

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles Proclaims Feb. 25 as “Ramona Brant Day”

It’s no coincidence the Center for Community Transitions chose Feb. 25 as the date for its Second Chance Employment virtual summit on investing in and hiring workers with criminal records. That day marked three years since the unexpected death of Ramona Brant, a City of Charlotte employee who was making the most of her “gift”…

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Second Chance Employment Summit

Investing In, Hiring Workers with Criminal Records Focus of CCT’s Feb. 25 Second Chance Employment Summit

Investing in untapped talent – workers with criminal and conviction records – is the focus of Center for Community Transitions’ virtual summit, “Greater Charlotte Pathways Home: An Executive Convening on Second Chance Employment.” The online event will be held from 7:30 to 9 a.m., Feb. 25, for second-chance employers, workforce development professionals, hiring managers and…

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Highlights from Back in Style, LOVE Week

Back in Style, our 9th annual back-to-school event to help kids with incarcerated loved ones prepare for school, shifted from in-person to drive-thru this year. CCT staff and volunteers distributed free backpacks filled with school supplies to elementary, middle and high school students who participate in Families Doing Time and Center for Women programs. Due…

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Myra Clark

Memories with Myra Clark: Looking back on 32 years at CCT

The *Center for Community Transitions began in 1974 in the basement of a church, operating on a $700 annual budget. Under Myra Clark’s leadership, CCT transformed into a $1.7 million organization that’s helped thousands of formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives and reintegrate as productive members of society. Every day she came to work, it…

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