#125 She Made Her Own Second Chance, Now She Makes Them for Others - Cheri Garcia, Cornbread Hustle

No, not an ice cream flavor, Cheri Garcia is a vibrant personality, really more of a machine. Absolutely not from a broken home or the typical tough background, she was the ideal kid. On the cheerleading team, pitcher for the softball team, anchor for the school newspaper - the ideal kid. So what happened? She decided to try meth with the promise to lose weight. That did happen, but so did her interest in all the good things she was doing. As an addict, people stop caring about their former lives and that's exactly what happened to Cheri. Miraculously, she graduated from high school and managed through sheer will to cold turkey. Then she focused in on her life's goal, being a journalist on TV. She got a job in the newsroom and also pursued other entrepreneurial passions, such as teaching gymnastics. She then took her ability to the prison system, helping inmates in their entrepreneurial programs establish a business or career. Since starting a business with "fifty bucks and a bus ticket" was not viable, she shifted to helping get released felons prepare for and get a job. Having now put herself out of a job, she figured that now connecting those ex-felons with employers, and second-chance hiring was born. With a great name, Cornbread Hustle now finds itself with more demand for employees than they currently can meet, a real change in hiring philosophy on the employer side. Felony Inc Podcast with your hosts Dick Hennessy and Meg Thibodeaux We record the Felony Inc Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Felony Inc Podcast supports City Central Concern at centralcityconcern.org 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Listen to the Felony Inc Podcast every Friday at 10:00am pacific time on Startup Radio Network at startupradionetwork.com