We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tony Lowden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tony , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Where do you get your resilience from?
My story began in North Philadelphia, which is considered one of the roughest neighborhoods in the country. This meant criminal behavior was all around me. My own mother ran a trap house where it was my job as a child to pick up the drug needles, take out the trash, and clean up the vomit. If I was running late to do these chores after school, my mother would physically abuse me as punishment. A majority of men and women in my family have been in and out of prisons, and the vast majority of the people I grew up with on my block are justice-involved. It took a lot of strength and a laser focus to not fall into the same cycle of crime, addiction, and incarceration that was the norm in my family and community. My faith gave me both.
I had an aunt who told me if I went to church with her, she would make me banana pudding every week. My sweet tooth made me step through the door, but over time, I found strength and support in my faith community to live a different kind of life. Understanding that I was part of something greater than myself gave me the resilience and purpose to rise above the environmental factors that surrounded me and dedicate my life to helping others with similar backgrounds do the same.
Where do you get your work ethic from?
Early in life, I learned the importance of striving to be best in class—and what that entails. Growing up in a dangerous North Philadelphia neighborhood, I had to prove I was best in class on every level by doing the opposite of what was expected of me. It would have been easier to just give in to the violence and crime all around me, but instead, I focused all my energy on asking myself why these conditions existed in the first place and what I could do to change them.
These questions also apply to my professional work because they keep the focus on problem-solving and impact. By asking who is directly connected to their work and how they can best serve those people from all angles, companies and organizations can also make a name for themselves by being best in class. Answering these questions requires boots-on-the-ground interactions with those people, from adolescents growing up in crime-ridden neighborhoods like my own to corrections officers responsible for maintaining safety and order within facilities to employees who observe firsthand how the products are being used or can be improved. I’ve realized that, especially in criminal justice reform, there are always more people I can talk to and learn from about how to best support returning citizens and justice-impacted communities in the long term and reduce the stigma that comes with these identities, which ultimately drives my work ethic and keeps me motivated.
How did you develop your confidence and self-esteem?
All the hardships I endured during my childhood showed me the importance of community, which I found through my church. I leaned on the family and friends who I felt safe around to lift me up when my mother beat me and when I felt like giving up. When I left North Philly for college and eventually started working in politics and the private sector, professional mentors along the way showed me that my perspective and contributions were valuable and impactful in a real, direct way. Nothing builds confidence in future success more than past success. It’s clear that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support systems I relied on when times were more difficult, so I now focus on paying this forward and creating similar spaces and networks of positivity for others who need help rising above their current harmful circumstances.
Where does your generosity come from?
I knew all along that God gave me a calling to do something different than those around me growing up, which set me up to gain new experiences and learn about the rest of the world. Because of that, I feel like it is my duty to pay forward these blessings and opportunities to uplift justice-involved people from all angles and reduce the hardships and stigma they face. That’s literally in my job title at ViaPath Technologies, where I am privileged to combine my personal purpose with the company’s mission to provide connections to community, education, and other supports that help break the cycle of incarceration.
How did you overcome imposter syndrome?
Since I speak as a justice-impacted individual myself, I’m in a unique position to highlight the systemic challenges that make recidivism so common and, more importantly, how we can help formerly incarcerated people navigate and overcome these obstacles in ways that may not be immediately obvious but will have immeasurable positive outcomes for communities and our society as a whole. Recognizing this as my strength drives me forward, even when I face new situations and challenges.
Being the only one in the room: how have you learned to be effective/successful even when you are the only one in the room that looks like you?
The way I see it, having a seat at the table for myself is not enough—it’s my responsibility to use my voice to speak up for those in my community and beyond who aren’t invited. Creating real solutions to the challenges justice-impacted individuals experience that lead to such high rates of recidivism in this country requires the courage to ask tough questions about why it occurs in the first place. I’ve learned the best way to get those in power to consider these questions is to demonstrate how supporting the reentry process through things like access to education, and employment is beneficial on multiple fronts. For example, evidence shows that returning citizens are motivated, loyal workers who can help fill our country’s staffing shortages. Plus, companies hiring formerly incarcerated people are eligible for a $2500 federal tax credit, which benefits businesses while addressing a fundamental root cause of recidivism. This is just one case that demonstrates how business or policy goals and criminal justice reform are not inherently mutually exclusive. My success has come from communicating how and why this is true in a tangible, common-sense way.
Where does your optimism come from?
My optimism comes from observing just how many people and organizations on all fronts are determined to create a better justice system and improve reentry. It’s so hopeful to me that a company like ViaPath Technologies invests in social impact and has taken a leading role in filling the gaps in the current reentry processes through our products and services. Our technology centers safety and support for all our stakeholders—incarcerated and returning citizens, their friends and family members, and correctional facility staff. Programs like virtual vocational training on a portal that incarcerated individuals maintain access to even after release provide continuity of support and avenues for real growth, which translates to more employment opportunities and ways to provide for themselves, their families, and their communities without relying on criminal activities. Plus, access to these programs within correctional facilities in a low-cost, virtual format saves money and resources while reducing stress on safety officers. This is just one example of the type of real-world solution ViaPath has spearheaded and how we are dedicated to changing the game for real instead of just on paper or worse, ignoring the larger impact of our products on the criminal justice system beyond profit motive altogether. Thinking about all the ways we can build on our existing products and programs fuels my hope for the future of reentry and criminal justice reform as a whole.
How did you find your purpose?
As I mentioned, my purpose always comes back to the negative situations I observed in my own childhood and the strength I drew from my faith community. I saw the suffering and hardship my loved ones and peers were experiencing day by day and felt obligated to ask questions like, why is it that all my uncles have been to prison, and why am I the only boy on my block who hasn’t gone to jail at some point? Now, I’m working hard to do everything I can to change the lives of other kids and people who come behind me and reform the criminal justice system to incorporate accountability and effective support for justice-impacted individuals and how these things can fit together instead of counteract each other. My position as Chief Social Impact Officer at ViaPath allows me to follow this purpose through technology and connections, both within the facilities and beyond, to reengage and bring families back together. It’s very exciting for me to see how my personal purpose and this company’s mission align. I’m grateful it has allowed me to continue doing the work I’m passionate about outside of politics and government.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.viapath.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ViaPathTech/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/viapath-technologies/
- Twitter: https://x.com/viapathtech
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