About a third of the young adults who enter YouthBuild have a criminal record, which means they share something in common with the venerable organization’s CEO, John Valverde. When he was 20, Mr. Valverde killed the man accused of raping his girlfriend and served 16 years in prison.

"I’ve overcome a lot in my life. I’ve lived with regret and remorse and a sense of responsibility and guilt and shame and all of those things that come with committing a crime and really appreciating the harm that you’ve done," he says. "Out of that I’ve really learned that it’s possible to stand alone as a leader and that it takes courage, but that it’s often necessary."

While incarcerated, Mr. Valverde (pictured above, third from left) finished his education, including a master’s degree in urban ministry. He also started his career as a nonprofit leader, co-founding Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, the first privately funded accredited college program in New York State’s prison system.

Read the full article about John Valverde and his work at Hudson Link by Nicole Wallace at The Chronicle of Philanthropy.