Andrew Glazier
Defy Ventures
Los Angeles, CA USA
"Prison takes away your humanity and your self-worth. If we’re going to help somebody be successful in reentry, we have to restore those things."
Career Roadmap
Andrew's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Business, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
People hold a lot of misconceptions and harmful beliefs about currently and formerly incarcerated people. When I'm asked if I work with murderers and convicts, I tell them no. I work with people. We also don't limit the people we help by their sentences. It's not my job to decide what redemption looks like. My job is to give people a path to redemption—even if that person is in prison for life without possibility.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
International Relations
Pomona College
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
University of California, Los Angeles
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I grew up in Los Angeles, California.
2.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in international relations from Pomona College—I also studied Japanese and spent time studying abroad in Japan.
3.
I liked Japan so much that I went back for a year after graduating college to teach English.
4.
When I got back home, I followed my plan to start working in government—I worked as a fellow and then found jobs in both local and state government, primarily in public education.
5.
After a few years, I decided to get an MBA in an effort to become a real estate tycoon.
6.
I got a job in real estate running a construction site—it was the first time that I had interactions with formerly incarcerated people.
7.
After completing the construction project, I went back to work in the nonprofit sector and got a job with City Year, where I saw first-hand the school-to-prison pipeline.
8.
I eventually joined Defy Ventures, which serves as an intervention point for currently and formerly incarcerated men and women—I started as an executive director and now work as the president and CEO.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Do you work with murderers? Do you work with convicts? Why would you allow someone who was sentenced to life without possibility of parole into your program?
How I responded:
People hold a lot of misconceptions and harmful beliefs about currently and formerly incarcerated people. When I'm asked if I work with murderers and convicts, I tell them no. I work with people. We also don't limit the people we help by their sentences. It's not my job to decide what redemption looks like. My job is to give people a path to redemption—even if that person is in prison for life without possibility.