Kira Kyle Email & Phone Number

PROGRAM MANAGER FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PRISON: With a degree in Education and experience as an entrepreneur, I've spent most of my career at the intersection of business + design. From offering small businesses web design services to running a professional photography studio for eight years to hosting a daily radio show for six years, I've worked in for-profit and nonprofit sectors. In 2017, I hesitantly stepped inside a prison for the first time. That moment was life-changing, and I knew I'd discovered the most important work I would do, thanks to a faith-based radio station in Peoria, Illinois that saw an opportunity I didn't seen myself. That moment led to the work I do now, offering education programs to returning citizens based on the belief that none of us want our worst mistakes to define our future growth and potential. This work has taught me the value of communication and building community, my greatest strengths according to one of my students. As a teacher of Defy's in-prison entrepreneurship program, I've taught 100+ students inside men's and women's correctional facilities in Illinois. I've seen firsthand the impact this program makes in the lives of our EITs (Entrepreneurs in Training), their families, and the communities they return to. I've witnessed the explosion of growth that happens as students achieve their goal of graduating from the program and begin to implement what they've learned: from starting to teach and mentor inside prison to creating value for their employers post-release and bootstrapping their own start-ups. I've also watched students who had "life without parole" receive clemency and start giving back once they went home. The positive impact Defy graduates make is limitless, and Defy's post release services are designed to continue a community of support for our alumni.As Prison Program Manager for Defy Ventures, I am responsible for hiring, training, and supporting our program teachers inside prison as well as planning our in-prison events. Three events in each 8-month cohort engage local entrepreneurs and business people from nearby communities as business-coaches-for-a-day. Defy EITs not only receive valuable feedback on their resumes and business ideas — they receive affirmation that people outside prison walls recognize their potential as human beings. Our programs provide personal development, career readiness, and entrepreneurship training for currently and formerly incarcerated people. As an inside/outside organization, Defy engages with EITs post release as well.

Listed skills include Wedding Photography, Event Photography, Digital Photography, Portrait Photography, and 6 others.

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  Illinois State University

  Bachelor Of Arts