Originally published by Unlocked Labs
In May 2023, our Executive Director, Haley Shoaf, received an atypical LinkedIn message. It was from Preston Thorpe, an individual currently incarcerated in Maine who had managed to teach himself how to code using internet access. Preston had heard about our work and wanted to get involved, as did his friend, Cole Dykstra.
What once seemed impossible has become a reality thanks to the Maine Department of Corrections' innovative program that allows incarcerated individuals to hold remote work jobs at industry-standard wages. In partnership with Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, Unlocked Labs has employed both Cole and Preston as software engineers working remotely from Maine State Prison and Mountain View Correctional Center. Now W-2 employees, these talented individuals are integral members of our software development team, working on our UnlockEd platform.
This quarter, Preston was promoted to Technical Lead and led our technical hiring process from his cell as we vetted senior technical talent. Unlocked Labs received over 125 applications from all over the country in less than three weeks; many had years of experience at Amazon, Meta, and Google but were eager for a change to find meaningful work.
In May 2024, members of our Missouri team traveled to Maine to meet our coworkers in person for the first time and discuss ways to deepen our partnership with Commissioner Randall Liberty. With over 36 years of experience in corrections and law enforcement, Commissioner Liberty has been redefining prison rehabilitation and reintegration since assuming office in 2019, aiming to enhance opportunities for residents.
On this trip, we were also able to see the significant technological contributions that both Cole and Preston have made to the facilities they live in:
- implementing tools that cut industries payroll processing time from 3.5 days to three hours.
- modernizing the count system to significantly reduce staffing needs.
- reimagining the facility canteen for better resident experience.
This experience cemented our core belief: those closest to the problems are typically the best situated to solve them—and they do.