When Alberto completed the program at the Center for Employment Opportunities in Denver, he wanted to give something back to the people he had been working alongside for months. He knew they needed clothes to get through the coming winter, so he started a clothing drive.
“I remembered that some of the guys didn't even have a jacket during the early summer when it was still chilly,” Alberto said.
“So, I gathered all of my friends and family together, even the guys from my Bible group, and we tried to find them all the stuff they could use.”
Working together, Alberto says they collected roughly 125 pairs of wool socks, along with stocking caps, hats, and gloves, before Thanksgiving. He plans to do it again, every year, for as long as he’s able.
“Being a part of CEO really helped me, getting to know my other crew members and understanding exactly what they were going through humbled me, and I want to give back when I can,” he said.
Before coming to CEO, Alberto spent 16 years as a Denver Police Department dispatcher. Then, in 2024, a bad night and a single mistake brought him into contact with the criminal justice system and he was placed on two years probation, denied a deferred sentence, and lost his career. All too quickly, he learned the struggle of finding employment with a criminal record.
“It was a difficult transition period in my life. I applied to a hundred jobs, and they all flat-out told me they couldn’t hire me because of my background,” Alberto said.
“I felt like I was at a dead end, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
Then he ran into Ubaldo, an old family friend he hadn't seen in almost thirty years.
“He’s actually on the staff at CEO now,” Alberto said.
Ubaldo told him about going to prison and getting out. He shared how he’d once been where Alberto was, and that he had found his way to his career at CEO after completing their program.
“He explained their whole process to me, and I knew immediately that it was an incredible opportunity,” Alberto said.
Thanks to their conversation, Alberto started his transitional job at CEO, receiving job training and advice on improving his resume and interview skills, especially regarding questions about his criminal history.
“Answering those questions was the hardest thing for me to overcome,” Alberto said.
“Because I would always tell the truth, but then I would also deflect all the blame onto other people.”
Alberto learned to take responsibility for his actions and speak openly about how he overcame that difficult time, what he learned from his mistakes, and the steps he took to become a better person. He learned to speak with confidence, and to convince any company he was applying to that he deserved their trust. Thanks to those lessons, and several letters of recommendation from former co-workers and family members, he was hired as a project manager and dispatcher for a nationwide commercial HVAC company.
“I was honest and upfront about my past, and who I was, and because of that, the company gave me an opportunity,” Alberto said.
Today, Alberto dispatches teams to respond to air conditioning issues at stores like Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Family Dollar throughout Colorado, submits quotes for labor and parts, and schedules repair work.
Alberto also plans to join CEO’s advanced training program to earn his Commercial Driver's License, aiming to work for Colorado’s Department of Transportation or a city municipality repairing roads or plowing snow. His goal is a stable, enjoyable career until retirement, which felt out of reach just a few months ago.
“Until I went through CEO’s program, I didn’t think I had any real career options,” he said.
“They guided me in a direction I had never even thought about.”
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