81R1353 JGH-D

By: Madden H.R. No. 175

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Catherine Rohr and the Prison Entrepreneurship Program have been named to the Philanthropy World Hall of Fame, and this honor provides fitting recognition of the program's admirable success in helping others; and

WHEREAS, A graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, Ms. Rohr established a successful career before focusing on philanthropy; she was employed at Summit Partners in Palo Alto, California, and as director of investment development at American Securities Capital Partners in New York; and

WHEREAS, In 2004, after visiting a Texas prison and meeting a former inmate who had started a thriving handyman business, Ms. Rohr had the idea to offer business training to inmates; she relocated to Texas to operate the privately funded Prison Entrepreneurship Program to provide values-based entrepreneurial instruction to Texas prison inmates; currently based at the Cleveland Correctional Center in Cleveland, Texas, the four-month PEP program teaches participants how to create, develop, and present a business plan; and

WHEREAS, PEP has recruited more than 800 senior executives and financial industry professionals to serve as mentors and business plan judges; the program's inmate participants also benefit from weekly advice from over 400 students from top MBA programs across the nation; and

WHEREAS, PEP's innovative and constructive techniques have led to remarkable results; more than 400 inmates have completed the program so far; the vast majority are gainfully employed, and dozens have started their own businesses; the recidivism rate of the program's graduates is less than 5 percent, compared to more than 50 percent for prisoners nationwide; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Rohr's remarkable program has previously won the Criminal Justice Volunteer Service Award from Governor Rick Perry and the Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; and

WHEREAS, Catherine Rohr's unique combination of compassion, creativity, and business acumen is helping convicted criminals to chart a more productive course for their lives, and her efforts provide a positive example of the way in which citizens can make a difference in the world around them; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature hereby congratulate Catherine Rohr and the Prison Entrepreneurship Program for being enrolled in the Philanthropy World Hall of Fame and that Ms. Rohr and the program's staff and participants be extended sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Ms. Rohr as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.