JoAnne Page

As President and CEO of The Fortune Society, JoAnne Page leads one of the nation’s most respected nonprofit organizations serving and advocating for formerly incarcerated individuals. Under Page’s 27-year stewardship, today, with more than 250 employees and a $28 million annual budget, Fortune has grown significantly in size and national visibility. It is recognized by researchers and policy makers as a pioneer in assisting former prisoners reintegrate into society.

A graduate of Yale Law School, Page cultivated and created many of Fortune’s signature programs including substance abuse treatment, counseling, family services, HIV/AIDS health services, mental health programs, job training and employment services, parenting initiatives, and supportive and permanent housing. These innovative and successful initiatives are national models. This includes the opening of the groundbreaking Fortune Academy, supportive housing for men and women released from prison into homelessness. With the Academy, Page took an abandoned drug den and eyesore to the community and turned it into a place of hope and understanding. In 2010, in a lot adjacent to the Academy, Fortune completed construction on and opened a green, mixed affordable and supportive housing development with 114 apartments and 20,000 square feet of service space.

Page, the daughter of a concentration camp survivor, has unparalleled expertise and experience in the American justice system on issues including prison reform, solitary confinement, wrongful convictions, the over-incarceration of young men of color, sentencing reform, violence prevention, homeless housing, effective policing strategies, legislation, sex offender registries, barriers to employment and housing, voting rights and more. She is also a skilled fund raiser and financial manager.

Page is in demand as a speaker. She has been a featured broadcast interview guest on CNN, The O’Reilly Factor, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NPR and myriad local New York City TV and radio stations. Print interviews include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The New York Law Journal and more.

Follow Page on Twitter @thefortunesoc.