BEST Program Graduation At TPFW

NASHVILLE – Earlier today, eleven women from Tennessee Prison for Women graduated from the Building Entrepreneurs for Success in Tennessee (BEST) Program.  The program, founded by Karen Vander Molen, is an outreach initiative of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and utilizes volunteers from two area universities – Vanderbilt Law School and Belmont University EntrePartneurs Program.  College students, as well as mentors from the local business community, teach the participants how to start their own businesses.   The program also brings in speakers from Toastmasters and area life coaches to share key skills needed to be successful such as public speaking, budgeting, and marketing.

According to Tiffany F., one of today’s graduates, the program “gave us tools on how to work through our emotions and build ourselves up.  We were taught to embrace our past because it is part of our story.”  Kristina G., the BEST keynote speaker, shared her thoughts on the life-changing power of the program, “We will be the ones to change people’s perceptions of those returning from prison.” She goes on to add, “A successful life after prison is not only possible but very achievable.”

Assistant Commissioner of Rehabilitative Services Edward Welch believes “programs like the BEST program are key to rehabilitation and reentry.  These programs collaborate with the Department, the community and the offenders to strengthen paths to successful reentry.”

The next cohort of BEST Program begins in the fall.