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Jason Wang
Jason Wang
01:35

Jason Wang

FreeWorld

San Jose, CA USA

"When we learn how to forgive not only others but ourselves, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities."

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Jason's work combines: Entrepreneurship, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People

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Day In The Life

Founder & CEO

I lead a nonprofit organization that aims to end mass incarceration through high wage careers and asset ownership.

01:17

Day In The Life As CEO Of A Nonprofit Organization

My Day to Day

Now that we're in year three of operation, my role is about scaling. While the organization was funded by a board of directors previously, we're now raising external capital. My day to day primarily revolves around fundraising so that we can scale our model around the country.

Skills & Education

Advice for getting started

My father internalized a lot of his struggles as an immigrant and took it out on me through physical and emotional abuse. I didn't have a true family with my father, so I found a family through a gang. That led to my incarceration but it was probably the best thing for me. I was able to do criminal justice reform work and take a look at myself. I've built myself up and now I'm helping other formerly incarcerated people do the same.

Here's the path I took:

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Global Business

    The University of Texas at Dallas

  • Graduate Degree

    International Business/Trade/Commerce

    The University of Texas at Dallas

  • Graduate Degree

    Accounting and Finance

    The University of Texas at Dallas


Watch Jason's full interview

Life & Career Milestones

I've taken a lot of twists and turns

  • 1.

    My parents were immigrants and we really struggled financially—my father internalized those struggles and took it out through abuse on me.

  • 2.

    My parents divorced and I moved with my mom to Texas and ended up joining a gang—this led to me being arrested at 15 years old and sent to a maximum security juvenile prison on a 12 year sentence.

  • 3.

    While incarcerated, I testified in front of the State Senate on criminal justice reform, which springboarded me into a national conversation—I essentially became the face of juvenile justice in Texas.

  • 4.

    When I was released, I got a full-ride scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas, where I earned my bachelor’s degree and a double master’s degree.

  • 5.

    Despite my degrees, I found that my criminal record still barred me from finding a job—people still saw me as the worst mistake I had made rather than the person that I was.

  • 6.

    Through help from mentors, I was able to find some jobs in things like management consulting, but I found it very difficult to adapt to the corporate world.

  • 7.

    I realized that there were probably others like me facing the same struggles, so I started doing research to find ways to connect formerly incarcerated people to career opportunities.

  • 8.

    In 2018, I founded FreeWorld, a nonprofit organization with a mission to end generational poverty and recidivism by helping formerly incarcerated people into high-wage jobs.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Parents:

    You're worthless. You'll never amount to anything.

  • How I responded:

    My father internalized a lot of his struggles as an immigrant and took it out on me through physical and emotional abuse. I didn't have a true family with my father, so I found a family through a gang. That led to my incarceration but it was probably the best thing for me. I was able to do criminal justice reform work and take a look at myself. I've built myself up and now I'm helping other formerly incarcerated people do the same.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

Click to expand

  • My parents were both immigrants and really struggled financially. My father internalized those struggles and would take it out through emotional and physical abuse on me.

  • Growing up as one of the only people of color in my town in Iowa, I experienced a lot of teasing, bullying, and discrimination from my peers.

  • I had faced so much strife and bullying already that when I moved with my mother to Texas, the only place I found home was with a gang. I joined the gang when I was 13. It eventually led to my incarceration.