Live Intentionally

At age 30, Catherine Rohr is the CEO and founder of the nonprofit Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP). Under her leadership, the program recruits volunteer senior business executives who provide training, mentoring, and support to prison inmates. The participants in this one-of-a-kind program have achieved a 98 percent employment rate and have launched 40 entrepreneurial businesses. Currently PEP is refining resources to replicate its model in facilities nationwide.

Notes from this session follow.

How did you end up in prison? 

• Took a missions trip to Romania, worked with orphans… asked “Why did God give me so much so early?” … got an invitation to one of Chuck Colson’s donors to go to a Texas prison… started flying back and forth to Texas each month… had to do more.

Talk about the cost of the call?

• This is my calling.  There is nothing I wouldn’t risk…  My favorite prayer is “Bring it on God!”
• Used all of our money including 401k
• Called to move to TX
• My life is on the line, but so is everybody’s every time we get into a car.

How did you find the courage?

• One act of obedience after another.
• The toughest and most joyful, fullfilling years.

 Talk about the prison system

• 1 of 15 Americans go to prison at some time.  50% go back.
• Men are released with $100 back into the same bad environment and then have title of ex-offender that sticks with them for life.
• We are as Christians don’t extend grace to prisoners.

 Tell us about PEP.

• 3 categories to what we do
  • Recruit the best entrepreneurs in prison.  Train them.
  • Re-integration - Provide them with housing, benefits, help them start businesses.  (98% employment rate. 70% of graduates are doners to PEP.  Goal of graduating 1,000 men a year.)
  • third?

Tell us about the “crucible moment.”

• Texas prison system shut down the program while investigating it for 4 weeks.
• Just show up in the morning, get your orders for the day, and execute.

What have you learned about leading up?

• Large institutions are made up of individual people.
• My mentality is the prison system is a customer, they’re allowing us to do what we do.

How do you instill character in prisoners? 

• Don’t want to teach a dope dealer to become a better dope dealer.
• Give them a character assessment.  She does the character assessment herself to show her weaknesses, be real about them.
• Also do peer assessment.

How do you handle criticism?

• Don’t let my emotions over criticism prevent me from getting my job done.
• Assess whether the criticism is legit.  If something needs fixing, I want to know to fix it.
• Dismiss rumors.
• I don’t make excuses for being a woman.

Talk about self-leadership, accountability. 

• If I’m not in good shape (physicially, emotionally, spiritually) it hurts everyone.
• Have people who hold me accountable.
• Assistant schedules “don’t touch me” time.

How do you ask for money?

• Ask people to connect their hearts to the ministry.  Come to prison with me.
• Gives to PEP herself.
• 46% of closing situations end without the person asking for something.
• People like to own something.  Sponsorships.
• Good followship.

What’s the future?

• People want us to run PEP for the homeless, women, other states.
• We won’t bring PEP to you, but you can come see us and start your own ministry.
• Looking for someone to apprentice who will eventually start PEP in another state.

It’s not start a ministry and then find the leader, find the leader and then start the ministry.

Tell us about your philosophy of hiring from within.

• 9 of 26 staff members are PEP graduates.
• PEP is in their bones.
• This is not a hand-out ministry.  Not pitty, but compassion.
• Not here to feel sorry for you but to treat you like a successful person.
• High expectations.
• Jesus picked a bunch of losers, teenagers, so do we.

Speak to us 

• I’m not a superstar, just a person who gave what I have.
• I’m on the greatest adventure.
• I dare you to pray “Bring it on God!” 

This entry was posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.