Tina Naidoo is the executive director of the Texas Offenders Reentry Initiative (T.O.R.I.), a prisoner reentry program of The Potter’s House Church in Dallas, Texas, founded by Bishop TD Jakes. Since 2005, T.O.R.I. has served more than 30,000 citizens returning home from incarceration and their families by providing holistic, wrap-around services that foster positive lifestyle changes. T.O.R.I. is a 12-month intensive case management program that focuses on bridging gaps that incarcerated people may experience in six areas: employment, education, housing, health care, family reunification, and spiritual guidance. Among T.O.R.I. clients, the recidivism rate is low, at 11 percent. T.O.R.I. has become a trusted knowledge partner with a proven model of rehabilitative and restorative justice, and its influence is expanding beyond America, most recently to Canada. Ms. Naidoo’s recent address to The House of Commons of Canada's Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security inspired a federal bill that would establish a federal framework to reduce recidivism and allocate funding for every province in Canada to create comprehensive reentry programs similar to T.O.R.I. The State of Texas expanded funding for the T.O.R.I. program in the state’s major metropolitan centers. Dallas selected T.O.R.I. to implement its reentry services pilot program that increases employment opportunities and decreases recidivism for formerly incarcerated individuals. Ms. Naidoo has received numerous awards and invitations to present innovative models, ideas, and policies nationally and internationally. In 2016, she was a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award by the National Alliance of Faith and Justice. She also was awarded as a 2016 White House Champion of Change for her role in expanding Fair Chance Opportunities. Ms. Naidoo has a license in clinical social work and earned an M.S. in social work.
