Koch Industries Executive to Keynote U.S. Attorney’s Fair Chance Hiring Conference

BIRMINGHAM – Mark V. Holden, senior vice president and general counsel of Koch Industries, will be the keynote speaker next week at a conference sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama focused on reentry and fair chance employment issues for people returning to society from prison.

Koch Industries is nationally recognized for its leadership and advocacy to remove barriers to employment for people who have had a criminal conviction or arrest. Koch Industries reports that it directly employs 60,000 people nationally, about 2,600 of them in Alabama.

The Alabama Fair Chance Employment Summit will be Wednesday, July 20, from 9 a.m. to 11a.m. in the Steiner Auditorium at the Birmingham Museum of Art, 2000 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr.  Boulevard. Holden is considered a national leader in reentry reform and fair chance employment practices.

“In Alabama and across the country, leaders from the public and private sector are collaborating to break the cycle of crime by promoting employment and community support for those who have committed  crimes, served their sentences and paid their debts to society,” Vance said. “Often, collateral consequences that result from an arrest or conviction affect an individual’s ability to find employment long after the completion of any court-imposed sentence. We can prevent crime and make our community safer by making it possible for people to find jobs,” she said. “Mr. Holden’s experience with gainfully employing ex-offenders should provide great insight for our community.”

For more information on the event, contact Jeremy Sherer at (205) 244-2001 or Jeremy.Sherer@usdoj.gov