Denver

3532 Franklin Street, Suite S Denver, CO 80205 (720) 279-8489

Hours: Monday to Friday, from 8:30AM to 4:30PM

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CEODenver@ceoworks.org

Partnership Contact

Josh Ehrlich

Site Director (Vocational Lead)

jehrlich@ceoworks.org

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The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Denver provides immediate, effective, and comprehensive employment services exclusively to people recently released from incarceration. CEO’s program supports participants in gaining the workplace skills and confidence needed for successful transitions to stable, productive lives. We are dedicated to ensuring that justice-impacted job seekers have opportunities to achieve socioeconomic mobility.

CEO Denver opened in 2017.

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CEO Updates:

Read the story

Denver Site Director Mark Smesrud and Business Account Manager Ubaldo Chavez share the long-term employment goals of CEO in a video created by The Denver Foundation, which has donated to CEO Denver since 2018.

September 9, 2025

Colorado Sun / Tracy Ross

After incarceration, the road to employment can seem impossible. Here’s how Coloradans can beat the odds.

Colorado’s recidivism rate for the 6,000 people annually that return from incarceration is 28%. But with coaching and support services, many are staying out and earning more.

July 31, 2025

HR Dive/Ryan Golden

Study: Colorado second-chance hiring program shows ‘encouraging’ results for workers

Participants in a reentry program for formerly incarcerated people experienced upward earnings growth six months after enrollment, University of Denver researchers said.

February 8, 2025

The Denver Post

“Visitation is rehabilitation”: Lawmakers push to recognize right to visit for prison inmates in Colorado

Colorado lawmakers are trying to make it a right rather than a privilege for inmates in the state’s prisons to receive visitation. Now, inmates in Colorado’s 19 state-run prisons can have their visitation privilege revoked if they violate the Department of Corrections’ rules, which can include infractions such as failing to work. House Bill 1013, if passed, would specify that visitation can be limited only when necessary for routine operations or safety.

February 7, 2024

Colorado Newsline

Bill in Colorado to provide cash assistance to people leaving prison dies

Colorado lawmakers killed a bill that would have provided direct cash assistance for daily expenses to support people recently released from incarceration.

January 31, 2024

Denver7

Colorado lawmakers consider giving felons who are leaving prison up to $3K

State lawmakers are considering a bill that would provide up to $3,000 to convicted felons to help them transition back into society when they leave prison or jail.

January 31, 2024

Colorado Newsline

Pilot program would provide cash assistance to people leaving prison

A Colorado bill aims to provide direct cash assistance for daily expenses to support people recently released from incarceration, with the ultimate goal of reducing recidivism.

January 22, 2024

CBS News Colorado

LOCAL NEWS Proposed bill in Colorado would give people leaving prison $3,000 to restart life, could save state money

Colorado state Sen. James Coleman knows times are tough for a lot of Coloradans. Especially if they have been convicted of a crime and served their sentence.

January 17, 2024

Newsweek

Democrats Propose Giving $3,000 to People Leaving Prison

Colorado Democrats are proposing a new cash assistance plan that would give people leaving prison up to $3,000 for "basic life expenses."

January 12, 2024

Bolts Magazine

A New Plan to Lower Recidivism: Stimulus Payments to Formerly Incarcerated People

A bill filed in Colorado aims to break the cycle of incarceration by giving people up to $3,000 upon release from prison.

June 22, 2023

Colorado Times Recorder

Why Legislators Should Staff Formerly Incarcerated People Like Me

Experiencing the Colorado State Capitol for the first time can be overwhelming. I never experienced anything like it, and I certainly didn’t expect it to result in a job.

May 4, 2022

The Colorado Sun

Nonprofit gives $1.5M cash to more than 600 formerly incarcerated Coloradans transitioning back to community

Heather Fitzsimmons was working on getting her life back together and staying clean while on probation in Aurora when she noticed what seemed to be an extra deposit in the account where she gets paid.

May 24, 2021

9news.com

CEO Denver's Kristen Payne Talks with Channel 9News About the Program in the Local Community.

Watch video in the link.

December 7, 2018

Vail Daily News

CDOT acknowledged for parolee work program partnership with Center for Employment Opportunities

DENVER — The Center for Employment Opportunities has recognized the Colorado Department of Transportation for its role in providing transitional work to individuals on probation or recently released on parole. CDOT's partnership with the Center for Employment Opportunities has provided employment for nearly 200 people since May 2017. Participants in the program work within CDOT's Division of Highway Maintenance to help maintain bridges, clear graffiti and trim or remove unwanted vegetation.

May 5, 2025

Isidoro Rodriguez

The Power of Paid Training: Inside Cortney’s Apprenticeship Journey

In 2023, Cortney was homeless, living in her car with her three children in Denver, Colorado, and struggling with addiction. Soon, her circumstances brought her face to face with the criminal justice system and the very real possibility of losing her family. It was all the motivation she needed to get her life back on track. “I decided to get off the street and put myself into sober living,” said Cortney.

March 19, 2025

No One Can Start Over with $100—How Reentry Cash Helped Shayne Rebuild

When Shayne returned home from incarceration, he faced the same overwhelming reality that so many justice-impacted individuals do—starting over with nothing but $100 and the clothes on his back. In previous attempts at reentry, the financial strain became unbearable, leading him back to old habits as a way to cope. But this time was different. This time, he had support.

February 14, 2025

Ryan M. Moser

How Reentry Cash Assistance Kept George on the Path to Stability

Reentering society after incarceration comes with countless hurdles, from securing stable employment to affording basic necessities. For many, the first few months are the most critical—without financial support, the risk of recidivism increases dramatically. In Denver, George, a participant in the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) program, experienced these challenges firsthand.

January 27, 2025

Ryan M. Moser

Perri's Journey Through Reentry Cash Support

In this Q&A story on the impact of reentry cash assistance, we spoke with Perri, who navigated the challenging path of getting back on your feet upon being released on parole. After living in a sober house for two years, Perri discovered the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) in Denver, which promptly placed them on a beautification transitional work crew and provided a job coach.

March 1, 2023

Emily Montgomery

A path to fulfillment: Ubaldo’s journey to helping others after overcoming adversity

Looking at his life today, Ubaldo sometimes has to pinch himself. “I tell my wife all the time, am I dreaming?,” he says, “It’s so wonderful. I’m so proud of where I am professionally and personally.”

September 9, 2022

Eric Borsuk

“I Am Not My Past”: How Matrice Took Back Control of Her Life

Matrice, a Denver native, was raised with her brother by a single mother in Kansas City, Missouri. She recalls her mother struggling to raise them alone but says they always made the best of it. Despite being a straight-A, honor-roll student, and a girl scout, Matrice says her mother was very strict. She presumes it was to keep her out of trouble.

July 29, 2022

Emily Montgomery

How reentry cash assistance gave Heather housing security during COVID

For Heather, a Colorado native, things were looking good in 2020 for the first time in awhile. She was released from incarceration in December of 2019 and the following February she began job training and transitional work with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a reentry employment provider. But she was having trouble securing a permanent position.

May 11, 2022

Emily Montgomery

Economic mobility after pandemic job loss, thanks to cash assistance

Losing a job during the pandemic could have been a catastrophe for Shaun. But thanks to the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) program and our Returning Citizens Stimulus (RCS) cash assistance, this setback didn’t stop him from achieving economic mobility.

August 2, 2021

Kenneth Edwards

Congress Must Invest Now in Jobs for Justice-Impacted Individuals

In the American Jobs Plan, President Biden calls for a $100B workforce investment, including prioritizing justice-impacted individuals and subsidized employment as a proven training tool. As someone who has been there, it’s welcome news for the Administration to recognize just how hard it is for anyone with a history of incarceration to get a job.