Jason Wang

For more than a decade, Jason Wang has worked on the front lines of criminal justice reform as a policymaker, grantmaker, entrepreneur, public speaker, and consultant.

Jason’s work in the criminal justice space started at the age of 15. He was arrested for a 1st degree felony, Aggravated Robbery, and was given a 12-year sentence at a maximum security juvenile prison in Texas. While incarcerated, he worked closely with Will Harrell, an Independent Ombudsman appointed by the Governor of Texas, to create the first Youth Ombudsman program, which provided recommendations to change policies on isolation for incarcerated youth, developed the first Parent’s Bill of rights, and revamped the entire agency’s rehabilitation curriculum.

Upon release, he received a full scholarship and earned two master degrees from the University of Texas at Dallas. Despite his education, employers would not hire Jason due to his criminal history. At his lowest points, Jason considered recommitting crime just to be able to food on the table.

This led to the creation of FreeWorld, a tech nonprofit that aims to accelerate our society towards a more just, justice system. Today, that means training and placing returning citizens into family sustaining careers in the trucking industry, developing Reentry technology for partners in the field, and engaging in policy reform nationally.