2025 NC Rehabilitation and Reentry Conference
April 1-3, at the Hilton North Hills in Raleigh
The conference will bring stakeholders from across the state together to provide innovative reentry information, share best practices, network, exchange ideas, raise awareness, and advocate for systemic reform. It will also highlight the outstanding progress of North Carolina’s Reentry 2030 initiative that will strengthen the future of reentry in the state.
Participants and presenters will include community leaders, government officials, nonprofit organizations, policymakers, community-based organizations, legal professionals, faith-based organizations, correctional professionals, law enforcement personnel, academics, justice-involved individuals, businesses, and others who support reentry efforts and initiatives.
Inspiring Conference Lineup Includes These Featured Speakers
Kwame Kilpatrick
Kwame Kilpatrick, the chief administrative officer of Movemental Ministries, is an ordained minister, motivational speaker, consultant, and certified character coach who values dedication, service, and excellence. As the understudy of his own life and its transformation, Kilpatrick brings a unique perspective gained from his experiences to audiences, empowering them to unleash their untapped potential. Using real-world examples, Kilpatrick sheds light on how the invaluable talent each person brings to an organization or life experience must be embraced through good decision-making, empowerment, and character.
Kilpatrick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. A graduate with honors from Florida A&M University, Kilpatrick later went to Michigan State University Law School where he graduated and passed the Michigan Bar Exam the first time he took the test. At the age of 26, he was elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives, then elected by his colleagues to be the leader of that body. At the age of 31, he was elected as the youngest mayor of Detroit.
Kilpatrick resigned from office in September 2008 after he was criminally indicted on charges of perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice, and pleaded no contest to assaulting a deputy. He was also indicted on charges of misusing of campaign funds. In March 2013, he was found guilty of racketeering, extortion and related issues and was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
Then-President Donald Trump, however, commuted Kilpatrick’s sentence after about eight years, in a last-minute reprieve before leaving the presidency in January 2021.
"Chef Jeff" Henderson
Jeff Henderson started his culinary career in the unlikeliest of places: prison. While serving nearly 10 years, he discovered an untapped passion for cooking, which led to executive chef positions at Bellagio and Caesars Palace.
Henderson's inspiring story has been featured on Oprah's Life Class, Good Morning America, Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, The Steve Harvey Show and in major publications such as The New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, People, The Washington Post, and many others. When Henderson is not traveling the world teaching his life-changing lessons, he resides in Las Vegas with his wife Stacy and their five children.
In 2020, Henderson founded The Chef Jeff Project with a mission to change the lives of young disadvantaged, and system-impacted men and women in the Las Vegas community. The program offers professional training in one of Las Vegas' top industries — food service. The youth referred to the program are 15–24 years of age and are system impacted, struggling with addiction, dropped out of high school, or aged out of foster care. The program is seen as the last chance for many of these youth before facing more restrictive sanctions in the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Participants are trained primarily in the art of cooking and take courses in introduction to cooking and baking, restaurant cleaning and sanitation, and the principles of hospitality and customer service. Upon completion each student will be awarded a certificate of completion and given a pathway to enter the workforce or continue their culinary education.
Adam Clausen
In early 2000, Adam Clausen was a 25-year-old homeless drug addict. His desperate situation propelled him into a robbery spree spanning 20 days – nine robberies, using a firearm in each instance. The use of the firearm plus prior offenses mandated a 213-year sentence.
Once he settled into prison life decades ago, he threw himself into helping others – as a fitness coach, a certified life coach, and mentoring and teaching wherever and however he could. It was a way, he soon realized, to come to terms with the grim fact that the courts had decided he would never be free again.
After serving almost 20 years, passage of the First Step Act enabled Clausen to apply for compassionate release under broader criteria. His motion was granted, and he walked free in August of 2020.
Now, instead of nights of despair in a cell, Clausen spends his nights with his wife, Ro, changing diapers and rocking his three-month-old baby to sleep. He is happily married and full of energy and commitment to a new life.
Beyond his change of fortune, Clausen seems most interested not in himself, but in “inspiring infinitely more people to become their best selves, regardless of their circumstances,” he says. He’s been this way for years, even in prison.
Clausen is working hard to give others that same hope. He works at Social Purpose Corrections, where he continues the coaching work he worked on in prison and occupies a leadership role. And he hasn’t forgotten those he left behind.
Kendall Taylor
Kendall Taylor travels the country speaking at prisons and schools and mentors small business owners and youth to inspire and positively change lives. He created Salute 1st, LLC with one mission in mind: to impact men from all walks of life by challenging faulty perspectives and belief systems, building men of good character who possess the necessary critical thinking and emotional mastery skills conducive to a successful lifestyle.
Taylor grew up in a single-mother household with his younger brother Robert, in Gastonia. With no positive male influences present, Taylor found himself deep in the underworld of crime, drugs and violence, as well as becoming a father at age 15. In that same year, Taylor was arrested for the first time.
Taylor was involved in a deadly shootout when he was 16. He survived multiple gunshot wounds that, to this day, left a bullet lodged in his lungs. That pattern of destruction continued until he turned his back on a life of crime when he turned 27 and began to use his abilities to build rather than to destroy.
After his last criminal charge in 2007, Taylor began the arduous journey of working to overcome three felony charges. He went from working in the warehouse of a logistics company in Charlotte to starting his own company (Courier Logix, LLC). After a few years, Courier Logix merged with Metro Transportation Services, and Taylor secured a 49% ownership stake in the combined company. In less than three years, Taylor’s direct sales efforts contributed to a 400% increase in revenues for the company, generating over $5 million in operating revenue.
Taylor was formally recognized by the Charlotte Metro Supplier Diversity Council, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and Pride Magazine as an outstanding entrepreneur in the city. Taylor has received numerous awards, including a scholarship to the Tuck School of Business Entrepreneur Program, and public recognition for his business achievements and impact on the community.
Taylor created Salute 1st, LLC with one mission in mind: to impact men from all walks of life by challenging faulty perspectives and belief systems, building men of good character who possess the necessary critical thinking and emotional mastery skills conducive to a successful lifestyle. He is also co-owner of Rock Soul Entertainment with his wife.
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Questions about the 2025 NC Rehabilitation and Reentry Conference?
Contact Guy Buckner at guy.buckner@dac.nc.gov