Articles
October 10, 2025
You’re hired: First job initiatives build hope and opportunity
RHLC line-cook alum connects new populations with industry careers.
Jones says thanks to HOPES, Work Options has helped participants build positive support systems and ignite the passion to succeed.
Brittany Jones is a true believer in helping people find second chances—professionally and personally.
The 31-year-old former parole officer turned foodservice employee serves as program and recruitment manager for Work Options, a Denver-based culinary training initiative assisting justice-involved individuals secure industry jobs that jumpstart their lives and careers following incarceration. Work Options is a community partner in the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s HOPES program, one of its workforce development initiatives.
Jones says the executive director at Work Options convinced her to take on her new role after completing a year of training as a line cook apprentice through the Foundation’s Restaurant & Hospitality Leadership Center.
“I spent 11 years in the restaurant industry, but had no formal culinary school training,” she says. “I worked in kitchens since I was 16 years old, and when the apprenticeship opportunity came about, we both knew it would be right for me, that it would help me get the certifications necessary to become a program manager at our organization.”
Jones says that thanks to HOPES, Work Options has helped participants build positive support systems and ignite the passion to succeed through a strength-based approach that teaches them the ability to attain the goals they’ve set for themselves. So far, she notes that the organization has been able to assist 220 participants per year, with 70% of them either having found employment or moved onto better employment opportunities during their first year of participation.
“Sometimes our students believe that opportunities have been cut off and shut off because of their criminal histories,” she says. “It’s gratifying for me to be able to present them with pathways to employment that could lead to bigger and better opportunities in the long run. I tell them to be authentic, to be fully present at work and in the communities they serve. HOPES brings opportunities, and we believe those opportunities lead to empowerment.”
Learn more about the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
The 31-year-old former parole officer turned foodservice employee serves as program and recruitment manager for Work Options, a Denver-based culinary training initiative assisting justice-involved individuals secure industry jobs that jumpstart their lives and careers following incarceration. Work Options is a community partner in the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s HOPES program, one of its workforce development initiatives.
Working to build careers
HOPES, also known as the Hospitality Opportunities for People (Re)Entering Society, along with the Restaurant Ready program, partner with state restaurant associations and a network of community-based organizations and local government agencies to equip individuals from all backgrounds with the skills, certifications and support to join the industry and build their careers.Jones says the executive director at Work Options convinced her to take on her new role after completing a year of training as a line cook apprentice through the Foundation’s Restaurant & Hospitality Leadership Center.
“I spent 11 years in the restaurant industry, but had no formal culinary school training,” she says. “I worked in kitchens since I was 16 years old, and when the apprenticeship opportunity came about, we both knew it would be right for me, that it would help me get the certifications necessary to become a program manager at our organization.”
Providing direction and support
Today Jones and Work Options recruit formerly incarcerated individuals aged 25 and older and equip them with the personal development and culinary training skills necessary to succeed in the community and work successfully in the restaurant industry. She’s also planning to work with a second group, aged 18 to 24, who “need some direction and a strong support system to help them bridge the gap so they can become job ready,” she says. “We really want to focus on young folks because they are our future. We want to make sure that we are setting them up for opportunities that best suit them, that will lead them on a trajectory of long-term success.”Jones says that thanks to HOPES, Work Options has helped participants build positive support systems and ignite the passion to succeed through a strength-based approach that teaches them the ability to attain the goals they’ve set for themselves. So far, she notes that the organization has been able to assist 220 participants per year, with 70% of them either having found employment or moved onto better employment opportunities during their first year of participation.
“Sometimes our students believe that opportunities have been cut off and shut off because of their criminal histories,” she says. “It’s gratifying for me to be able to present them with pathways to employment that could lead to bigger and better opportunities in the long run. I tell them to be authentic, to be fully present at work and in the communities they serve. HOPES brings opportunities, and we believe those opportunities lead to empowerment.”
Learn more about the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
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