CEO speaks on helping prisoners learn about business

A man called “Little Princess” addressed a group of students, businesspeople and former convicts Monday at the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

“Little Princess,” an ex-convict whose real name is Jason Wang, was visiting UNC with Catherine Rohr, the founder and CEO of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.

The program, which began in 2004, takes convicted prisoners who are at least three years from their release date and teaches them to create competitive business plans, making them more likely to become permanent additions to the workforce once they are released.

The story behind the program has all the markings of a classic turnaround story.

“I used to hate criminals. I thought they were the scum of the Earth,” Rohr said at the beginning of her speech.

This resentment was only fueled by her job on Wall Street, where Rohr recalled learning the cost of incarcerating a criminal. But Rohr reversed her feelings during a trip to a Texas prison with a friend where she realized the striking similarities between her career and the inmates.

“Gangs are run by boards of directors, and they have bylaws and bookkeepers,” Rohr said. “The guys at the top make these incredible profits. The one thing they weren’t really good at was risk management.”

Rohr decided to capitalize on the potential she saw in the inmates and returned to the same prison two weeks later to teach a “business 101” class for the prisoners with the help of other CEOs.

“It was like breathing life into these guys,” Rohr said. “They had never been told before they could go do something good and productive.”

After her first two-hour session with the men, Rohr immediately decided to implement a business plan competition for the inmates and assigned their first homework assignment to be due in two weeks.

Rohr moved to Texas and invested all of her money in her new Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Her efforts paid off quickly — the program raised $230,000 in its first year with no help from state funding.

The men in the program work through a five-month program at the Cleveland Correctional Center in Cleveland, Texas. Potential program participants are screened by two recruiters who make sure they are committed to personal transformation, have a strong work ethic and show entrepreneurial potential.

Rohr said games the men played, such as hula-hoop contests and sack races, and nicknames like “Skittles” and “Peaches,” helped break down barriers between the inmates.

“We have to get them to play together and love one another. That builds camaraderie and brotherhood that is so important once they get out of prison”, Rohr said.

Jane Murchison, a senior from Texas, heard about Rohr through family friends. Her parents and parents’ friends helped underwrite Rohr’s travel costs while the business school sponsored the reception after Monday’s speech.

“She is such a wonderful person, and I wanted other people to hear her story about following her passion”, Murchison said.

Wang stood in front of the crowd Monday in a business suit and described his three years spent in prison after being charged with aggravated robbery at age 15.

He is now 20 and attends Collin College in Plano, Texas. Wang described his prison time as a God-given gift.

“It was where I was able to find out what my values were, and it gave me a second chance at life,” Wang said.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.