Kenyatta Leal: The Last Mile
- Highlights:
- Adversity: Incarcerated with a life sentence
- Advocacy: Leads and is active in a host of self-help programs for prisoners
- Travels from: San Francisco, CA
- **Fee range: On Request
Keynote Topics
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Kenyatta Leal is a speaker and founding member, former Business Development Specialist, and former Board Member of The Last Mile program at San Quentin State Prison.
Kenyatta held management and sales positions at the San Francisco-based technology community, RocketSpace, before transitioning into the social impact space full time.
Kenyatta served as Next Chapter’s Re-entry Manager, then Re-entry Director, before becoming Executive Director in 2021.
Chrisfino Kenyatta Leal is a founding member of The Last Mile program at San Quentin.
Upon his release in 2013, Kenyatta served as an evangelist and Board Member at The Last Mile while holding Management and Sales positions with the San Francisco based technology campus RocketSpace. In 2018 Kenyatta joined The Last Mile full time as a Business Development Specialist and Reentry Manager for Next Chapter, an apprenticeship program at Slack that’s helping formerly incarcerated individuals find work and succeed in tech. In 2021 Kenyatta took on the role of Executive Director at Next Chapter.
Growing up with an absent father, Kenyatta’s dealing with drugs and robbery with firearms led him to a life sentence in the San Quentin, California prison at the age of 22.
But when he turned 25, someone gave him a chance in spite of his past and hired him full time. He went to real estate school and asked plumbers and electricians questions like, “How did you fix that?” He learned quickly.
In prison, Kenyatta learned about The Last Mile, an entrepreneurship program for inmates. “I was always looking for a way to channel my entrepreneurial energy and gift.”
The Last Mile inspired Kenyatta to launch Code.7370, an education program that teaches incarcerated individuals how to code.
To overcome the challenge of no internet connection, Code.7370 created a proprietary programming platform that simulates a live coding experience. Once inmates graduate, they’re invited to join TLMworks, the first web development agency to provide individuals coming out of prison with the opportunity to earn a living, professional wage.
Kenyatta Leal now helps train Fortune 500 companies to hire and retain employees who are exiting the criminal justice system, to create more inclusive work opportunities for those starting their second chance.
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