Board Members

Stanley Richards, Vice-Chair

Stanley Richards is the Executive Vice President at The Fortune Society, a non-profit organization based in New York City, with a mission to support successful reentry from jail and prison and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities. Mr. Richards is second in charge and is involved in all aspects of the organization, including the development and implementation of programs - discharge planning, education, workforce development, HIV/AIDS services, supportive housing, family services, substance use disorder treatment and mental health services, alternatives to incarceration and access to health care. Mr. Richards is a formerly incarcerated man of color and has decades of experience in the criminal justice field. Mr. Richards has developed the expertise and extensive knowledge of programs, services, policies, and systems that impact the lives of people involved in the criminal justice system and reenter society.

In 2014, Stanley was recognized by the Obama administration as a Champion of Change for his commitment to helping individuals impacted by the justice system.  He currently serves on a number of appointments including the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform chaired by former NYS Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, which created and released a blueprint, "A More Just New York City", for the future of criminal justice in New York City; the Working Group on Design, a subcommittee of the Justice Implementation Task Force, to ensure effective implementation of the "Smaller, Safer, Fairer: A Roadmap to Closing Rikers Island" initiative; the New York City Disconnected Youth Task Force which effort aims to examine the barriers that out-of-school and out-of-work youth face in enrolling in school or being employed; and the New York City CARE Task Force which will issue recommendations to address issues related to the post-incarceration reentry for older adult;

Mr. Richards graduated from Medaille College. He is certified as a Counseling Aide by the NYS Department of Labor. Mr. Richards was a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow in their Developing Leadership Program to Reduce Substance Use and completed Columbia University's Institute for Non-Profit, School of Business Management, Executive Management Program.