George K. L. Smith ~ Reentry & Violence Prevention Specialist | Founder/CEO, G.R.O.W. LLC

The Capacity to Maintain Change: A Brief Overview of Reentry From Any Space

Synopsis: In this presentation, George K. L Smith explores the challenges and mechanisms involved in transitioning back into a structured or familiar environment after a period in an "outside" or alternative space such as incarceration. It focuses on the capacity—the biological, psychological, social, and/or spiritual resources—required to maintain the personal changes, growth, or adaptations gained during the external experience as folks re-integrate.

Our Speaker: George K.L. Smith is a leading expert in reducing recidivism, leveraging over a decade of professional and lived experience to foster community safety. As Director of Reentry and Violence Prevention, he rose from an entry-level counselor to his current leadership role, managing over $3 million in grant funding and creating pioneering programs like The Academy of H.O.P.E. for returning citizens. He is also the Founder and CEO of G.R.O.W. LLC, through which he mentors youth in Bay Area juvenile facilities.

George’s work is profoundly shaped by his own transformation. Sentenced to life in prison at 17, he created and led a revolutionary violence interruption program while incarcerated that successfully united rival groups. The program's unprecedented success, noted in court documents, proved instrumental in earning his freedom.

Today, his influence spans multiple platforms. He teaches his co-authored gang-intervention curriculum, “I Once Was Now I Am,” inside CDCR prisons and reaches a national audience as the host of the podcast, Inside Out with George K.L. Smith. Airing on over 1.4 million tablets in correctional facilities, his show brings a message of hope and transformation to incarcerated people and their families.

A Certified Life Coach, Drug and Alcohol Counselor, and Conflict Resolution Specialist, George K.L. Smith is redefining what is possible for returning citizens, proving that those closest to the problem are essential to the solution.