Teresa Hodge

Teresa Y. Hodge, Is a 2016/17 Open Society Soros Justice Fellow. Her project focuses on tech inclusion for people with arrest and/or convictions.

As a passionate advocate for people with criminal connections. Teresa 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 founded and 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 exists prison or jail). The Coalition and its members desire to leverage its efforts within the greater 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.

She is currently penning her memoir detailing the journey in and out of prison.