Kabira Stokes and Chris Zwicke stand in a Chinatown warehouse surrounded by wood pallets loaded with old computer monitors, TV screens, and other electronic castoffs that will be broken down for parts or repaired and resold. 鈥淚nside that door,鈥� says Stokes, the CEO of this operation, 鈥渋s where we wipe hard drives, and we have a shredder for things that need to be physically destroyed.鈥�
As e-waste centers go, the setup doesn鈥檛 look all that remarkable鈥攂ut it is. Last year the business, which was run by Stokes and COO Zwicke, changed its name from Isidore to聽国产麻豆boy Electronics Recycling after teaming up with Father Greg Boyle. While the Catholic priest is best known for rehabilitating former gang members by providing training and employment at 国产麻豆boy Bakery and its offshoot, 国产麻豆girl Caf茅, the e-waste center reflects the more diversified approach his organization is taking.
Not only does the operation offer a more permanent employment option for graduates of Father Boyle鈥檚 18-month job training program, it also provides a new revenue source to support 国产麻豆boy鈥檚 services. Tom Vozzo, CEO of 国产麻豆boy Industries (the overarching name of the nonprofit), had been a fan of Stokes鈥檚 company for a while. 鈥淲hen I heard that she was looking for help growing the business in terms of capital investments, I thought, 鈥楳aybe this is a good chance for 国产麻豆boy and Isidore to join forces.鈥欌��
The move marks 国产麻豆boy鈥檚 first foray into the for-profit world. 鈥淚t seemed like we needed a next step, a bridge, between transitional work and the 鈥榬eal鈥� work world,鈥� Stokes says. 鈥淎nd it needed to be a for-profit company because a nonprofit sector can鈥檛 take care of employing everyone who comes out of prison.鈥�
Working as a senior field deputy for then-L.A. City Council president Eric Garcetti in the early 2000s, she was struck by how little vocational training California inmates receive before they reenter society. 鈥淣inety-eight percent of people who go to prison come back,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like you lock them up and throw away the keys.鈥� And once they do get out, job options are few. So after completing her master鈥檚 in public policy at USC, Stokes decided to fill the gap and provide jobs herself, launching Isidore鈥攏amed after the patron saint of computers鈥攊n 2011.
Most of her 14 employees have done time. That includes Xuong Cam, who was hired in 2013 after spending 17 years behind bars. 鈥淏eing here, not only do I get a chance to educate myself, I get to educate my family,鈥� says the assistant warehouse manager.
The goal is to increase sales by 40 percent and add at least six employees by year鈥檚 end. To do that, the company is looking to establish more contracts with businesses that need to securely dispose of their e-waste. (It doesn鈥檛 hire people with a history of fraud or identity theft.) Also in the works: a move from the current warehouse, near Father Boyle鈥檚 Chinatown headquarters, to a bigger space.
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