About

Ricky was born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago by his mother and stepfather Martha and Lee Phillips, along with his youngest sister Sheila.

While walking home on the first day of his senior year of high school, Ricky was chased by several armed rival gang members. Eventually during this chase, a friend of Ricky's witnessed what was going on and fired several shots at the armed rivals pursuing Ricky. Ricky continued on his way running home, but hours later Ricky would find out that an 80 year old innocent bystander lost her life during this shooting. At the age of 17 he was charged and eventually convicted of first degree murder by the theory of accountability for this tragic event even though it was known that he never fired a gun and was an intended victim in this incident.

For years Ricky spent his energy trying to win back his freedom through the appeals process. Yet at a certain point, tired of the disappointments, Ricky decided instead of focusing all his energy on gaining his freedom, he would focus on the type of person he wanted to be when that freedom came.

After overcoming the errant thinking which contributed to him being incarcerated, as Co-Founder and President of Two Roads, Kewanee Life Skills Reentry Center's first Restorative Justice Program in the Illinois Department of Corrections, Ricky went on to discover his passion for helping to improve the lives of juveniles and other returning citizens.

As President of Two Roads, Ricky facilitated the creation and organization of numerous programs which includes: the Chief Editor of Two Roads E-zine, co-host and co-creator of a podcast entitled Inside Outside, developer of a juvenile justice program entitled Choice Not Chance, as well as lead in the creation of a promotional video highlighting vocational and employment skills offered at Kewanee LSRC. Ricky had also acted as the unofficial ambassador of the institution and has toured and hosted numerous community members and dignitaries visiting the facility.

Ricky's passion and vision coupled with the development of his leadership qualities while in prison, positioned him to become a valuable asset to the reentry community. Upon his return, Ricky began his professional career as Reentry Coordinator for Phalanx Family Services, and also the Outreach Coordinator for Greenwood Archer Capital.

Ricky currently sits on the Executive Board of The Chicago Community Bond Fund, and also on the Advisory Committee of the Education Justice Project's Reentry Guide Initiative at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Ricky is also Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of C.A.N.D.O.R. Enterprises, a 501c(3) tax exempt organization whose mission lies in offering restorative solutions and opportunities to underprivileged communities, incarcerated populations, and returning residents. Applying restorative reentry programming, economic development, housing, mentorship and violence prevention programming, C.A.N.D.O.R. Enterprises help make individuals, families and communities whole.

Ricky draws upon his unique directly-impacted professional experience as a 2023 Fellow for the Justice Advisory Council Safety and Justice Challenge to further his humanitarian efforts to make the world a better place.

Michael Cannon is a native Chicagoan and community activist engaged in a wide range of humanitarian efforts that uplift fallen humanity by addressing the problems and needs of men, women, and children in disenfranchised communities, thereby improving their quality of life.

Michael is a member of the Cook County Coordinated Reentry Council, a broad diverse group of local decision-makers and criminal justice stakeholders whose goal is to restructure Cook County's fragmented re-entry service system. Michael's first-hand experience in correctional settings, as well as his extensive employment and volunteer experience in the field of reentry services, has allowed him to serve as a reentry advisor and subject-matter expert in shaping recommendations for Cook County with regard to reentry services. This led to Michael's employment as Reentry Navigator for the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, the largest public workforce development network in the Nation. It has 91 delegate agencies, American Job Centers, satellite sites, and sector driven centers. It has over 100 locations providing services to more than 140,000 people. Michael is instrumental in designing the Reentry system for Chicago and suburban Cook County, procuring and overseeing the direct service providers, and the current implementation of "The Reentry Navigation Initiative: The Road Home Program." His unique perspective and first-hand, directly-impacted experience, along with his commitment to addressing the importance of improving reentry services for all returning residents, makes him an effective social agent for change in the interconnected realm of reentry, workforce development, recidivism reduction, systemic policy changes, and more.

Michael is also a current member of the Illinois Reentry Council of the Illinois Justice Project. The IRC brings together those who intend to create an equitable and effective process for people leaving prisons and jails to support them in their return to the community. Members are determining a long-term strategy to design an improved system and support its implementation. The Council provides a platform where members can meet, exchange information, determine a long-term strategy to design an improved system and support its implementation, and evaluate and improve their work to create model processes and comprehensive holistic reentry services and supports. The Council has six workgroups that are critical to advancing the design and implementation of a strong reentry system that focus on various elements of successful reentry and a supportive reentry system. Given Michael's leadership in employment and unique perspective from his own lived experience with reentry, he was selected to Co-Chair the Economic Opportunity and Upward Mobility Work Group.

Michael is currently a Board Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board (IWIB). The Illinois Workforce Innovation Board is comprised of leaders from state, business, industry, labor, education, and community-based organizations with the goal of evaluating and meeting Illinois workforce needs. IWIB oversees the Unified State Plan's development, implementation, and modification through convening relevant programs and required partners and stakeholders to provide oversight and strategic leadership for the state workforce development system.

Michael is also currently an Advisory Committee Member for the Illinois Education Justice Project's Reentry Guide Initiative at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he has made many valuable contributions to the publication and distribution of its reentry guide, Mapping Your Future: A Guide to Successful Reentry, which is used by thousands of people who are released from Illinois correctional facilities and distributed by many IDOC counselors and social workers.

Michael is currently an Executive Board Member for the Chicago Community Bond Fund. The Chicago Community Bond Fund pays bonds for people in Cook County, Illinois. Through a revolving fund, CCBF supports individuals whose communities cannot afford to pay the bonds themselves and who have been impacted by structural violence. Inability to pay bond results in higher rates of conviction, longer sentences, loss of housing and jobs, separation of families, and lost custody of children. By paying bond, CCBF restores the presumption of innocence before trial and enables recipients to remain free while fighting their cases. CCBF also engages in public education about the role of bond in the criminal legal system and advocates for the abolition of money bond. CCBF is committed to long-term relationship building and organizing with people most directly impacted by criminalization.

Michael is a former and inaugural Governing Board member for the "Campaign to End Permanent Punishments" (Fully Free Campaign) at Heartland Alliance. There are over 48,000 collateral consequences across the United States that act as barriers for people who have a criminal record. Through legislative systemic policy change to repeal or amend the laws, the Fully Free Campaign seeks to dismantle the 1,189 Illinois laws that deny or restrict access to employment, education, and housing that are barriers for life for returning residents who have paid their debt to society.

Michael is also involved in numerous other social causes as a member of the Far South Chicago Coalition (FSCC) and a member of the Far South Community Action Council (FSCAC) Chicago Public Schools, where he received the 7th annual Black History Month 2021 recognition as Community Leader for his generosity and countless hours of devoted service to the community.

Michael is Co-founder and Co-CEO of GOT JOBS America, a Workforce Development Solutions Agency that employs returning citizens and other priority populations. In addition to providing employment opportunities, GOT JOBS America offers employer and employee training, consultation, and other workforce development solutions and critical supports that support the successful reintegration of citizens into the workforce.

In addition to being a social entrepreneur, Michael is also co-founder and Co-Executive Director of the not-for-profit organization, C.A.N.D.O.R. Enterprises, NFP (Creating A New Destiny through Opportunities and Restoration), which is currently operating in the most underserved communities throughout Chicago and south suburban Cook County, utilizing Restorative Justice practices to deliver a plethora of comprehensive holistic services designed to make the individual, family, and community whole.

Michael's passion for the holistic uplifting of fallen humanity is reflected in his words, actions, and deeds as he strives to make the world a better place.