ABOUT US
The Just Convergence was created to solve a specific problem: community-based organizations led by people with direct justice experience often have the commitment, the relationships, and the track record to do effective work — but lack the operational infrastructure, compliance capacity, and research connections to compete for the funding and partnerships their programs deserve. We are an incubator. We provide the backbone — compliance systems, financial management, research partnerships, proposal development, and program management — so that organizations in our cohort can focus on what they do best: delivering results for the people and families they serve.
Our Founder
The Just Convergence was founded by Erica Ward, a research and systems leader whose career bridges federal program management, nonprofit leadership, and direct experience with justice-involved families.
For more than two decades, Erica designed and defended complex, federally funded initiatives — building audit-ready financial, data, and compliance systems across programs exceeding $100 million in Department of Defense environments. She holds a Master’s degree in the Study of Law with a concentration in Government Contract and Procurement Law from the University of Dayton School of Law, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a finance focus. That background gave her a clear understanding of how federal resources move, where they get stuck, and what it takes to build organizations that can operate at scale with discipline and accountability.
Her path into justice work is both professional and personal. Through her support of organizations like Reading Legacies, Erica saw how literacy and family connection programs transform outcomes for incarcerated parents and the children waiting for them. Having a loved one currently incarcerated, she carries a personal commitment to solutions that serve families — not just systems — and that measure success by what matters most: stable housing, meaningful work, and enduring family connection alongside public safety.
Under Erica’s leadership, The Just Convergence has assembled a team and partnership structure capable of managing multi-million-dollar programs and agreements while maintaining the trust and mission alignment that community-based organizations require. Our current portfolio of programs and initiatives are built around cohort organizations led by people with direct experience.
Why This Work
At any given time, nearly two million people are incarcerated or detained in the United States. Most are parents — leaving millions of children, partners, and caregivers to navigate separation and instability with limited support.
When reentry services are fragmented or absent, individuals and families are forced to piece together help on their own. The result: housing instability, unemployment, family disruption, and recidivism — outcomes that weaken communities and cost taxpayers billions.
Hundreds of community-based organizations across the country are working to change this. Many are led by people who have lived through incarceration themselves and understand what returning citizens actually need. These organizations are effective, trusted, and deeply committed — but they often lack the infrastructure to compete for funding, document their outcomes, or scale beyond their local footprint.
That is the gap The Just Convergence fills. We provide the compliance systems, research capacity, financial management, and program expertise that allow effective community-based organizations to grow, sustain, and prove their impact — so that good work reaches further and the people it serves are supported with intention rather than left to chance.
Support the Work
What Makes Us Different
We support organizations that are already doing the work — and equip them to operate at a level where federal and state agencies, researchers, and institutional funders take them seriously.
- Direct Experience at Every Level. Our founder, our cohort leaders, and teams all bring personal experience with the justice system. This is not a credential we claim from a distance — it shapes how we design programs, build trust with corrections agencies, and ensure that the people these programs serve are genuinely represented in how solutions are built.
- Federal Program Management Capacity. We don’t just help organizations write grants. We serve as prime applicant and manage complex programs and agreements — handling compliance, financial reporting, IRB coordination, and partner management so cohort members can focus on delivering results.
- Research Without Extraction. We build research partnerships that serve the organizations and communities involved — not just the researchers. Evidence-building is integrated into program design from the start, not imposed after the fact.
- Technology Built by the Community It Serves. Our technology partner, Block Elevate Technologies, is built entirely by formerly and currently incarcerated developers. The tools we use are not designed for this population — they are designed by this population.