Our founders have been involved with Kairos Prison Ministry at RJ Donovan for many years. After reading Father Greg Boyle’s book, Tattoos on the Heart, and hearing him speak to inmates, they recognized the dire need for a San Diego based nonprofit modeled after Father Boyle’s teachings and subsequently founded the public benefit nonprofit Rise Up Industries.
Following the model of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the most successful program of its type in the US, RiseUp Industries Reentry Program opened in Santee in March 2016. It assists former gang members to successfully reenter society; thereby, reducing the gang population and the recidivism rate.
Over the years we have learned that jobs are about 80% of what these folks need to redirect their lives. The other 20% is a mixture of therapeutic and support services. So, in addition to paying men to receive job training, we also require that they spend part of their working day working on themselves.
At RiseUp Industries, they are welcomed into a community of mutual kinship, love, and a wide variety of services. Full-time employment is offered through an 18-month program that trains our members to be Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machine operators—a technical skill in high demand that helps them re-identify who they are in the world, offers job training so they can move on from RUI and become contributing members of the community – knowing they count! Through contract work for local and out of state customers, they experience real work opportunities and work ethic development.
RUI operates three social enterprises: In addition to the CNC Machine Shop, we operate a Coffee Roastery, and a Custom Silk Screen and Embroidery Shop. 100% of our net proceeds are invested directly back into Rise Up Industries’ programs. The Coffee Roastery and Silk Screen and Embroidery are developing their customer bases with the objective of providing additional employment opportunities down the line.
Programs to implement the other two prongs of RUI’s mission— intervention and prevention—will be launched as resources permit.
Board of Directors
Ross V. Provenzano
Rise Up IndustriesPresident
Founder / President of Provenzano Resources, Inc.
Ross Provenzano is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the chief executive officer of Provenzano Resources, Inc., a retail-consulting firm serving shopping center developers, airports and municipalities. Ross holds a current California Real Estate brokers license, a California general contractors license and has an extensive background in commercial and residential property construction development and management.
Ross is a member ‘emeritus’ of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the past Board Chair of St. Augustine High School, a member of the California Board of Realtors, a participant in Kairos International and active in Catholic church ministries.
Steve Boyle
Rise Up IndustriesVice President
Retired School Administrator with the Cajon Valley Union School District
Steve Boyle is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University where he received Master of Education and Bachelor of Arts degrees. Upon graduation he taught in Alaska with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. After teaching in the Lennox School District in Los Angeles for eight years he relocated with his family to San Diego and served as a school administrator for the Cajon Valley Union School District for over thirty years.
Gary D. Lynn
Rise Up IndustriesChief Financial Officer
Retired Navy Supply Corps Captain
Gary Lynn brings two decades of experience in the non-profit sector and 28 years with the U.S. Navy as a Supply Corps Officer. He most recently spent nine years as the Chief Financial Officer with YWCA of San Diego County, where he advised the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors on the financial status of the organization and proposed corrective measures. Prior to the YWCA, Mr. Lynn worked with the American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, preceded by eight years with United Way of San Diego County as the Director of Finance and Administration.
Mr. Lynn holds a Master of Science degree in Financial Management from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from San Diego State University. He has long been active in area civic organizations – including Alliance San Diego, Veterans for Peace San Diego, Casa Cornelia Law Center, and as a City of San Diego Human Relations Commissioner from 2004 to 2012.
Steve Spooner
Rise Up IndustriesSecretary
Founder / President of Spooner’s Woodworks Inc.
Steve Spooner is a graduate of Northern Arizona University. In 1980 Steve founded Spooner’s Woodworking Inc., a family owned and operated manufacturer and subcontractor of architectural woodworking for commercial and institutional applications. In 1991 Steve co-founded Laser Art and Engraving.
Steve is also a founding member and past president of the San Diego Cabinet and Millwork Association and a current board member of Woodwork Institute. He also served for two years as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Whispering Winds Catholic Conference Center. Steve is active in several charitable organizations and is also involved with the Kairos Prison Ministry International that serves at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
Delfina Centanni
Rise Up IndustriesDirector
Director of Major Gifts
Cristo Rey San Diego High School
Joey Nunez Estrada Jr., Ph.D.
Rise Up IndustriesDirector
Associate Professor at San Diego State University
Gilbert J. Gentile, SJ, LCSW
Rise Up IndustriesDirector
Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Joseph L. Gilbreath
Rise Up IndustriesDirector
Retired Army Corps of Engineers Colonel
Michael Macie JD
Rise Up IndustriesDirector
Senior Director, Occupier Services
Tim Meissner
Rise Up IndustriesDirector
Principal at Meissner Jacquet Commercial Real Estate Management
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Dr. Ron Baza
Owner, Ron Baza & Associates, Inc. and Management Consulting Consultant
Bishop Cornelius Bowser
Charity Apostolic Church
Dr. Derry Connolly
Founder and President, John Paul the Great Catholic University
Mr. Phillip Jelsma
Partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
Mr. Steve Kim
University of Southern California
Mr. Barry LaForgia
Founder and Executive Director, International Relief Teams
Mr. Morad “Ronnie” Matingka
VP Branch Manager at US Bank
Ms. Lynn Sharpe-Underwood
Adjunct Professor at Alliant International University-San Diego Campus
Mr. Blaise J. Subbiondo
Founder, E-Tap, Inc
Mr. Raymond Uzeta
Retired at Chicano Federation of San Diego County, Inc.
Deacon Jim Vargas
President and Chief Executive Officer, Father Joe’s Villages
Deacon Jim Walsh
Assistant Director, Office of Social Ministry, The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
