Meet the Staff


SENIOR LEADERSHIP
John Garofolo
Chief Financial Officer
For 10+ years, John worked at Ernst & Young as a Senior Accountant and Manager in the Management Consulting Practice; and at IBM, Global Services as a Senior Manager in the Global Strategy & Design Practice.
Most recently, John has served as a Senior Executive Consultant at Shepherd Partners, Inc., a turnaround and financial advisory firm. While at Shepherd, John served as an interim CFO in a variety of settings; his areas of expertise include financial transformation, turnaround/restructuring advisory, capital sourcing, and M & Advisory services.


SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Andrew Glazier
President & CEO
Prior to joining Defy, Andrew worked at City Year Los Angeles for nearly 8 years in a variety of roles. Andrew started at City Year LA serving as their Government Relations Director, developing and managing local and statewide government relations strategy and training for 150 corps members and 28 staff. Upon promotion, additional roles included serving as City Year LA’s Chief of Staff, Managing Director Program Service and Managing Director Impact and Strategy.
Most recently, Andrew served as City Year LA’s Senior Managing Director, where he provided cross-departmental leadership, led City Year’s organizational growth strategy, oversaw the Government Relations Department, built strategic partnerships with the Los Angeles Unified School District, and sourced funds from and supported the cultivation of foundation and corporate donors.


THE STAFF
Sarah Binion
Director, Monitoring & Evaluation
Sarah brings to Defy 9+ years of experience that includes qualitative & quantitative research design and analysis, curriculum design, and program implementation and management. Most recently, Sarah served as a Social Impact Evaluation & Strategy Consultant for Fathom, as Board President for Crime Prevention Institute (CPI), and as an Adjunct Professor at Austin Community College. Recent projects included supervising a diverse and global team of 10 to implement and facilitate the traveler experience onshore in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, as well as implementing the first ever formal CPI strategy planning session that resulted in a three-year strategic plan for growth and diversification.


THE STAFF
Melissa Gelber-O’Dell
Director, Prison Programs
As a criminal justice reform advocate, Melissa is passionate about Defy’s mission. In her role as Director, CEO YNL – California, she works to connect Entrepreneurs-in-Training to Defy’s programming and expand pre-release operations on the West Coast.


THE STAFF
Julie Jackson-Forsberg
Vice President of Learning
THE STAFF
Andrew Glazier
President & CEO
Andrew Glazier is the President and CEO of Defy Ventures, Inc, an entrepreneurship and career readiness program supporting currently and formerly incarcerated adults operating in six states.
He joined the organization in May 2017, serving initially as the first Executive Director for the Southern California Chapter, then as the Chief Program Officer for the national organization. In April of 2018, he was named Defy’s President and CEO.
Prior to joining Defy, Andrew served as the Senior Managing Director at City Year Los Angeles, where he oversaw the doubling in size of the City Year Los Angeles program during his tenure. Andrew received his Bachelor’s in International Relations from Pomona College, and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
The diverse team that powers Defy brings a variety of expertise to the organization, from entrepreneurship to technology to nonprofit program management. Defy is a lean, results-driven institution with a team who is committed to and passionate about our mission. We work exceptionally hard, and, above all, value the heart behind the Entrepreneurs-in-Training, volunteers, and supporters who share in our mission.