Uzoma “Zo” Ochingwa, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Emerge Career: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for being here. My name is Zo Ochingwa. I’m the co-founder and co-CEO of Emerge Career. We are an AI-powered workforce development company that partners with governments to train justice-involved, low-income, and underserved populations into high-demand trade careers. We work with companies to place these skilled, job-ready workers into industries with labor market shortages, from trucking to clean energy to AI.
On behalf of Emerge, I want to thank Mayor Adams, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and all of our partners for their commitment to creating real second chances and pathways to good jobs to New Yorkers who need it most. We’re excited to share the impact of this program in our expansion, a major step forward for both public safety and economic opportunity in our city.
With that, it is my honor to introduce someone who has been a true champion of this work. Please join me in welcoming the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.
Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much. I was looking at the truck, because I just remember these commercials as a child, you know? Is this the same Ferrari driving school? Started when? What year did it start?
Audience Member: 1968.
Mayor Adams: I remember your voice. Wow. I grew up watching the commercials of driving, Ferrari driving schools. So you’re the original owner, the dad, and the son? What a story. What a story.
You know, there’s things we do in government that you just feel good about. And what Director Logan, what she has been doing about upstream solutions. You know, we spend a lifetime watching people that we pull out of the river. And we need to go upstream and prevent them from falling in the river in the first place. And she has always talked about that and just silently just doing the work, doing the work every day.
And Emerge is just really helping those with justice involved emerge from a state of uncertainty and not believing in themselves to a point that they are believing in themselves. And I just feel so good about this program, because I probably have been on Rikers Island more than any mayor in the history of the city. I was re-baptized on Rikers Island with the inmates, because I wanted them to know that I am them.
And we often write these young people off and don’t find real solutions. And it has been our focal point, our focus point, of really coming up with ways that we could tell young people a bend in the road is not the end of the road if you are allowed to make the turn. And that’s what Emerge is doing. And I just thank you, thank this organization, and I thank you, director, for this program.
This is just a win-win. And we’re excited about that. So today, we are just driving those who have had terrible encounters in their lives, we’re driving them towards success. And we’re expanding our commercial driver’s license training program, an innovative criminal justice program that pairs formerly justice-involved individuals with commercial driver’s license training and jobs in an industry facing significant labor shortage.
So just think about it. We have an industry that’s facing a severe labor shortage. We have a labor population that just needs the training. And we are matching them together. We’re solving an employment [inaudible] And we’re solving a public safety issue. All go together, just working together. And we’re getting formerly justice-involved New Yorkers behind the wheel and giving them a fresh start.
This is a multi-million dollar investment that we’re making on each individual who we would have been spending that money housing them in a correctional facility. Just think about that for a moment. The money we would have been spending by not having them contribute to society in a tax base, we are now allowing them to contribute to society, raise a family, and good working class jobs. We’re giving them life-changing training, personalized coaching, and job placement next year.
Under this expansion, 300 justice-involved New Yorkers would get a second chance. And I would say that again. 300 New Yorkers would get a second chance, a pathway to a steady job and career, and to financial stability. It fills the gaps in our workforce. And it’s just a win-win for all of us when you think about it.
Look at the numbers. The average unemployment rate for Americans getting out of incarceration is 60 percent. 60 percent. 12 times the overall national average. But in contrast, if you have your CDL license, you are going to go into a job that would pay from $78,000 a year to $124,000 a year. And this is what this is all about, giving those second chances. And we cannot expect people to reintegrate into society if we’re not giving them the tools and opportunity to do so. And that’s what we’re doing with this CDL program, an upstream solution.
And just really want to thank Deanna Logan, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and Emerge Career for helping justice-involved individuals turn their pain into purpose and finding their purpose in the process. With this expanded CDL program, we’re shifting up a gear to prevent recidivism and keep our city safe. And it’s putting justice-involved New Yorkers on a path to build their American dream one gear at a time.
I want to just really turn it over to our director, Director Logan. And just job well done, job well done to the entire team. This is a real victory. You should be up here joining us. You know that? How many of you saw that commercial as children? Thank you. Always wanted to meet you. I’m going to take a picture with you by the truck, okay? I’ll turn it over to the director.
Deanna Logan, Director, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice: Wow, good morning, everybody. Thank you so much, Mayor Adams. Listen, here’s where we are. We here at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice are super excited to be in the place where we have been able to take a technological, innovative solution to a people-centered challenge.
As the mayor told you, 60 percent, 60 percent of people coming from incarceration are having trouble finding a job within the first year of coming out of prisons or jails. And it is 12 percent of the national average. It’s 12 times higher than that, than the national average. That’s scary. It’s absolutely scary. And it’s the reason why I stand here half unable to speak, because I am so proud. I am so proud of the accomplishment of the New Yorkers standing here with me for how we are changing lives and benefiting people, right?
It’s the reason why our office invests in reentry programs like Emerge, because unlike those bad numbers of 60 percent not getting a job, we got great numbers, right? 95 percent graduation rate, financial stability for hardworking New Yorkers that are deserving of second chances. Every day, our administration is working to create a safer, more affordable, and livable city.
We’re helping to stabilize families, as well as New York neighborhoods. Our investment in workforce training is helping to break cycles of poverty and crime. Our investment in transitional housing, which members of our graduate class benefited from, produces enormous reductions in recidivism.
Sustainable public safety, that’s what we get when we invest in people. I’m proud of our city. I’m proud of our graduates. And I’m proud that we, along with our mayor, are replacing the cycle of incarceration with pathways to success. And so given that pathway, I’d love to introduce to you one of the individuals who has gotten on this road to success, Mr. Iovanny Medina.
Iovanny Medina: Good afternoon, everybody. I’m new to this. First, I want to thank Mayor Adams, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Emerge Careers for giving me the chance to stand by here today. My name is Iovanny Medina. And my journey with the criminal system began when I was just a little kid.
By the time I was a teenager in the early 90s, I was kicked out of my house. I saw no one way to support myself, so I decided to sell drugs. That decision was a mistake, a mistake that I learned from and I was too good to be part of that business again.
The decision led to nearly three years of incarceration, Brooklyn House, detention, Rikers Island, Butler, correction facility. Those years left a mark on me, but the real struggle became after my release. I chose friends, helped me land a job at Con Edison, and a major layoff led me back looking for work. Con Edison was a great job that I lost, that I was given, and I lost it, making over $100,000 a year.
After that, I couldn’t find another job because of my years, my incarceration, my felony, and my luck. But major layoffs led me back looking for work, and I found my cycle in dead-end jobs, which I did appreciate because it fed me. I had nobody to go to and was from the streets.
My criminal record followed me everywhere. It kept shutting me out in stable opportunities. Every time I thought I was about to take a step forward, another door closed in my face. I was living in limbo with little prospect for a better future. But when I learned about the CDL program on a Sunday looking for a job on Craigslist, I decided to click on it, and I didn’t believe it.
Weeks later, I get a phone call, and it changed my life. The people of Emerge Careers have given me a chance to redeem myself, feel good about myself, and not have my past thrown in my face. But, when I learned about the CDL program from Emerge Career and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, I got hope back.
This experience has already been life-changing to me. I saw doors once open again, and in the beginning of the program this summer, I have earned my commercial learner’s permit, and I’ll go for my road test this coming Friday. Next, I’ll be taking my CDL exam. The job opportunities are already materializing.
For the first time in years, decades, I feel like I have a career ahead of me, not just another job. This program isn’t about training. It’s about hope, redemption, and building a future. My dream is simple, to provide for my family, Gabriela, my daughter, and my three grandkids. To build a career I can be proud of and to show others coming home from prison that a second chance really is possible. Thank you Emerge.
Finally, I want to give a special thanks to the people who stood by my side. My friend Reggie, who I live with, Amazon contractor. My sister which I love, which is my rock which is one of the reasons why I was able to remain [stable]. Mentally she was my rock. I would also like to think Emerge, my savior. I can’t ever thank you. I can never thank you. Thank you so much.
And my prior job right now that I’ve been friends with, before he even started, Francis Garcia, Artichoke Pizza, my friend Matthew Exterior, all these are friends of 25 years that I admire for owning and keeping me strong and keeping me from going back to that street and making mistakes. I love you guys.
And, I also want to thank the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice in the City of New York. Without their support, I wouldn’t be here today. So thank you for believing in us and investing in people like me, because this is a great program. I was lucky. It was just God there when I was searching just for a job, just to feed myself, that I seen Emerge, and you’re changing my life. You are so changing my life. And I won’t let you guys down. Thank you.
Mayor Adams: Good story. What a story, man. Good story. Oh, I want to play the original commercial.
[Commercial plays.]
Mayor Adams: Oh, man. You know, we talk about Emerge and saving lives. You know how many lives you saved? Think about how many thousands of people. Thousands of people have come through your system and learned, got their CDL license. You know, just really an honor to meet you.
Are you first generation? You came to America?
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Adams: Wow, what an American story. So now we know more than anyone. Just what Americans. Why don’t we answer some questions? We should just grab his story, you know? Let’s do a few questions.
Question: Mayor, is this the only school that they’re gonna have the partnership with or you are planning to expand it?
Mayor Adams: Well, I just heard Emerge state that they’re also doing AI and other things. We’re going to sit down and find out how the expansion– we’re doing an expansion, but we need to expand it even more. We’re going to fill this industry.
And remember, you have your CDL, you know how to drive one of these rigs. You can go anywhere in the country. You don’t have to stay in New York. You could go, these rigs don’t change based on what state you’re in. This, you know, vocational training is something you are controlling your life now. And that’s what we’re gonna look at.
So we’re going to sit down and figure out how do we expand this even more, you know? And even look at those who don’t know about it. Just so happened, the search was done and discovered it, but this is an amazing program and it could fill a major gap, you know? So we’re going to look to expand this even more.
Okay, let’s do a few off topics
Question: Just wanted to get your comments on the four Bronx shootings in 12 hours last night. What you’re doing about it, residents feel unsafe. What else can you tell us? One was delivering packages.
Mayor Adams: Yeah, and we’ve been witnessing these acts of violence in the Bronx. We saw it over the weekend as well. The commissioner reached out. We’re going to put in place a full mobilization plan. You know, the issue with the Bronx, we’re seeing gangs and young shooters and recidivism. That’s a terrible equation. And all that we’ve done to bring down the numbers in the Bronx, to see shooters like this back to back. In one of the incidents, we believe it was an innocent bystander. It’s alarming.
And we’re going to have the chief up there come up with a full plan of how we’re going to identify some of these locations and some of the gangs. That’s why we have to be proactive with this stuff because these young people are getting more and more involved in gang behavior. And they are finding themselves having just an overproliferation of guns that are coming into our city.
You know, when you take 23,000 guns off the street and you’re still able to have access to guns, that’s a real national problem that must be addressed. But the team is doing a full mobilization plan up in the Bronx to address this.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Hakeem Jeffries and Yvette Clarke met with Mamdani yesterday. But, they still haven’t endorsed [inaudible].
Mayor Adams: I’m sorry, they still haven’t endorsed you said? Yeah, well, number one, he’s not a Democrat. You know, he’s a communist. And, you know, I don’t think Hakeem and Yvette, they come from working class communities. Those communities don’t believe prostitution should be on their streets like he does. They don’t believe in defunding the police like he does. They don’t believe in getting rid of all misdemeanors out of our city like he does. They don’t believe in disbanding families like he does.
I mean, it would be challenging to endorse his policies that are really anti what working class people want. I don’t know one working class person that would like to leave their home and see a young boy or young girl standing on the corner selling their bodies. I don’t know one that wants that.
I don’t know any working class people who feel that we should not be embracing families and not talking about disbanding families. We believe in families. You know, I believe in families. And so I’m pretty sure they find it hard to embrace those policies that he’s representing.
And both of them, Hakeem and Yvette, they are working class elected officials. They endorse the Democratic primary winner in the presidential race. He did not. So it’s ironic that he’s calling for the Democrats to surround him, but he wasn’t there when they asked him to do the same.
So I’m pretty sure there’s some challenges that– working class communities that I know, that I came from, they want public safety, they want jobs, they want to give their children opportunities. And just as we’re doing this driver training, we want people to get a CDL license. We don’t want to raise children that look forward to standing on street corners selling their bodies. That is not the city we want to live in. And they have to, I’m pretty sure they’re looking at all that.
Okay, all right. Thank you.
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2025-08-27 16:57:00