Meet the nonprofit training formerly incarcerated people for careers in UX design | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

CROP Organization is a nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives through holistic reentry support and UX design training. Its year-long Ready 4 Life program combines personal development, career preparation, employment services, and stable housing, using Figma to open pathways into tech. The organization argues that access to education, tools, mentorship, and opportunity can reduce recidivism and challenge assumptions about what formerly incarcerated people can achieve.

CROP’s Mission and Ready 4 Life Program

• Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs (CROP) was founded in Oakland by people with extensive personal experience of incarceration.
• The organization addresses gaps in reentry services, where housing, employment, counseling, and other support are often fragmented.
• Its Ready 4 Life program provides:
  • Personal development
  • Career training
  • Employment services
  • Stable housing
• The first cohort included 12 fellows living in apartments on CROP’s West Oakland residential and training campus.
• Fellows also receive personal coaches and a monthly stipend.

Founding the Organization Through Lived Experience

• CROP’s founders collectively spent roughly 100 years incarcerated.
• After one founder’s release exposed serious weaknesses in existing reentry services, the group designed a more integrated, “wraparound” model.
• Jason Bryant describes education as transformative; during 20 years in prison, he earned a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, and certification as a drug and alcohol counselor.
• CROP seeks to help participants build skills and stability rather than simply return them to disconnected support systems.

UX Design as a Career Path

• CROP trains fellows in UX design using Figma.
• Instructor Alexis Bustos joined after five years as a UX designer because she wanted to make a direct contribution to diversity and inclusion in technology.
• She sees fellows’ storytelling, problem-solving, and ability to connect with people as valuable strengths in UX.
• According to Bustos, the fellows primarily need technical training and access to tools—not a fundamentally different set of abilities.

Reducing Recidivism Through Opportunity

• The program aims to help address California’s approximately 50% recidivism rate.
• California spends about $106,000 per incarcerated person annually, while only 3.4% of that spending goes toward rehabilitation.
• CROP says its program costs roughly half the per-person cost of incarceration.
• In 2021, the organization secured a three-year, $28.5 million partnership with California after presenting its plans to Governor Gavin Newsom.

Challenging Social Stigma

• CROP’s broader mission is to demonstrate that formerly incarcerated people can transform their lives when given meaningful opportunities and resources.
• The program combines practical support with professional development so fellows can envision futures beyond the limitations imposed by criminal records.
• By preparing participants for careers in technology, CROP also seeks to create new entry points into an industry where formerly incarcerated people have historically had limited access.

CROP’s approach suggests that successful reentry requires more than isolated services: stable housing, coaching, education, technical skills, and employment support must work together. Programs that pair this holistic foundation with real career opportunities can benefit both participants and the communities they return to.