My journey from privilege to prison | James Hooker | TEDxPerryvilleCorrectional 2018

As the CEO of Televerde, a sales and marketing demand generation company who runs contact centers out of the Perryville Prison Complex in Arizona and the Rockville Correctional Facility in Indiana, Jim knows too well that while may all be created equal, we’re not born equal. We’re automatically categorized by society based on circumstances, not by decisions we’ve made. For many, these categories last a lifetime and are near impossible to change. Why is this? This is even more true for those being released from prison in the United States. Regardless of their crime, their intellect, or their spirit, they are categorized into a single checkbox: a criminal. Withheld from working in favorable jobs or moving into thriving communities. For many, this categorization lasts a lifetime and is near impossible to change. “I believe we can all rethink how we look at those incarcerated. Discarding people for the rest of their lives, based on a decision they made on the worst day of their life, is such a waste of human potential.” In 1995, James Hooker’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to develop Televerde to help companies fill their sales pipelines and marketing funnels through insights and demand generation teleservices. Jim has set an extreme customer service culture and an always get better attitude to deliver results for clients. Prior to Televerde, Jim served as President and COO of Pacific Corp Capital, Executive Vice President for Pacific Atlantic and President and CEO of Ceres Capital Corp. Jim received is BA from Washington & Lee University and his MBA from American University. He has been a world-class novice bridge player in the American Contract Bridge League, and was voted “The Best Parent Fan” in support of his son Joey’s Big Red Cornell wrestling team.