Larry Miller and The Just Trust Launch JUMP: The Justice and Upward Mobility Project

Associated Press

15-02-2025

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA / ACCESS Newswire / February 15, 2025 / The Just Trust, a catalytic philanthropy that aggregates and deploys resources to justice reform and public safety innovation in the United States, launched a new social impact initiative called JUMP (Justice and Upward Mobility Project) with Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand at Nike. JUMP aims to leverage the power and influence of sports and entertainment to unlock access to education, employment, and economic mobility for youth and adults impacted by the justice system and seeking a first or second chance.
Inspired by Larry Miller's powerful story of redemption and success, JUMP will drive impact through four key pillars:
Education and Employment: Create education and workforce development programs that catalyze pathways to livable wage employment and economic mobility for youth and adults who suffer from justice system involvement. This includes a focus on personal leadership development and partnerships with employers in the sports, entertainment and business sectors.
Advocacy and Policy: Work with local, state, and federal policy makers to advance legislation that reduces collateral consequences and supports education, workforce development, and public/private partnerships that support inclusive hiring practices and reduce barriers to employment as a result of an arrest history.
Media and Narrative: Develop film, media and storytelling campaigns that change public perception and reshape societal narratives around the perceived scarlet letter of living with arrest records and corresponding challenges.
Coalition Building: Build local coalitions that mobilize educational institutions, community-based organizations, local government, and businesses to foster first- and second-chance employment ecosystems.
'I'm launching JUMP to the world, but JUMP is so much bigger than just my story,' said Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand. 'I'm here because I had access to opportunities that most people who've been incarcerated never see, and I took advantage of them when they came. I want JUMP to be the force that democratizes those opportunities into scalable, tangible pathways to livable-wage employment and economic mobility, available to anyone willing to strive for it. I want JUMP to build a world where everyone can fly.'
JUMP programming - led by Ken Oliver, Chief Innovation Officer at The Just Trust and Managing Director of JUMP - begins in March 2025, following the formal launch of the project on Feb. 15 at NBA All-Star Weekend with a star-studded event. Featured speakers include Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy, La La Anthony, and Common. The event celebrates the launch of JUMP as well as Miller's legacy, which is detailed in his memoir by the same name, JUMP. The book chronicles Miller's journey from the streets of Philadelphia to prison to an awe-inspiring career in the world of sports and apparel.
'There are 80 million Americans with arrest records and, among them, a wealth of drive and talent,' said Ken Oliver, Managing Director of JUMP and Chief Innovation Officer at The Just Trust. 'These individuals represent a massive, untapped pool of talent ready to contribute across all sectors of business and industry. JUMP is dedicated to nurturing that potential and breaking down barriers, creating pathways to opportunity that transform lives and strengthen communities.'
'Larry Miller shows us what is possible when people are presented with opportunities to change and grow - and have the strength and conviction to take them,' said Ana Zamora, founder and CEO of The Just Trust. 'We are proud to launch this project with our board member, and hope to soon see a world where people with past criminal records who want to choose a different path can move beyond their worst moments, and meaningfully contribute to the success of their workplace and to their own futures.'
Today, there are 44,000 legal barriers preventing individuals who want to choose a different path from accessing livable-wage jobs and essential resources, which contribute to our nation's high recidivism rate, our labor shortages, and the challenges in building safer communities. 'JUMP is a win for people, a win for businesses and the workforce, and a win for communities,' adds Ken Oliver.
JUMP's first partnerships will be announced on Feb. 15 at the launch event in San Francisco during NBA All-Star Weekend. A number of high-profile companies and organizations will partner with JUMP to build gold-standard apprenticeship models, hire apprentices, drive public policy initiatives, and develop coalition ecosystems that support hiring initiatives for justice-impacted talent. Additional partners that made the launch event possible include: Checkr, Comcast NBCUniversal, FilmHedge, Jobs for the Future, Mayer Brown LLP, Snickers, and Talent Nova.
About The Just Trust
The Just Trust is a catalytic philanthropy that aggregates and deploys resources to criminal justice reform and public safety innovation in the United States. The organization - made up of The Just Trust for Education (a 501(c)(3)) and The Just Trust for Action (a 501(c)(4)) - curates investments from a diverse bench of donors and nimbly deploys them to a robust network of partners and initiatives working at the local, state, and national level in pursuit of a smaller, more humane system of justice and safety. Learn more at TheJustTrust.org.
About JUMP
JUMP (Justice and Upward Mobility Project) - a project of The Just Trust for Education - is an initiative to catalyze first- and second-chance access to education, employment and economic mobility for justice-impacted youth and adults. JUMP provides personal leadership development, skill-building programs, and employment opportunities in the sports, entertainment, and business communities. JUMP works with local, state, and federal policymakers to remove barriers that prevent educational and employment opportunities for people who have had justice involvement; develops film and media campaigns to reshape narratives and deep cultural stigmas; and builds local ecosystems across the country to develop stakeholder coalitions that foster first- and second-chance employment opportunities. JUMP is based on Larry Miller's own journey. Learn more at www.jumpproject.org.
About Larry Miller
Larry Miller is the Chairman of the Jordan Brand Advisory Board, a division of Nike Inc. He was president of the Jordan Brand from 1999-2006 and again from 2012-2021. From 2006-2012, he served as President and Alternate Governor of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Prior to joining Nike in 1997, Larry served as President for Jantzen, Inc., a Manager for Kraft General Foods, and Assistant Controller at Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc.
His memoir JUMP: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom was published by William Morrow/ HarperCollins in 2022. Co-authored with his daughter Laila Lacy, JUMP details Miller's ascent from the streets of West Philadelphia to some of the highest distinctions of the corporate world.