Michael “Zaki” Smith is a policy entrepreneur at Next100 and an entrepreneur and activist with more than fifteen years of experience in youth empowerment and social justice. At Next100, Zaki’s work focuses on dismantling the collateral consequences of incarceration. As a formerly incarcerated person, Zaki has felt the full impact of collateral consequences. In 2017, Zaki lost his ability to work in a school he had worked in for five years all because of a past criminal record. In 2018, he co-founded Feast for Fair Chance, an organization with a mission to increase awareness around the 47,000+ policies that continue the silent life sentence of “perpetual punishment” for formerly incarcerated individuals after their terms are served. Feast for Fair Chance aims to change national legislation in the key areas that most impact an individual’s ability to reintegrate into society post-incarceration, including employment, housing, education, and voting.
