“I was born on third base — and I know I didn’t hit a triple.”

That’s an excerpt from a dear friend’s bio, someone who understands she entered the world positioned to succeed.

That’s not to say she hasn’t faced challenges. She certainly has. But she also has the humility to recognize that those challenges are, by orders of magnitude, more situational than systemic.

As an entrepreneur committed to doing right while doing well, she’s navigated waves of gender bias, no doubt. But not the kind of systemic barriers that affect so many others in our country: those born into disinvested communities, without even a chance to step up to the plate.

It’s this lens that stays with me during Fair Chance Month, a time meant to raise awareness of the uneven playing field experienced by people impacted by the justice system. It’s called “Fair Chance,” not “Second Chance,” because for many, the system was never fair to begin with.

In the United States, we remain caught in a cycle where the zip code you’re born into is often one of the strongest predictors of your future. The result is millions of Americans who fall victim to that injustice, may make some missteps — and then spend years, even decades, trying to find their way forward.

This imbalance of opportunity — this injustice of access — is what drove our evolution to Redefine Alliance. We went searching for a way to more clearly assert our purpose: to redefine what talent looks like in this country. To ensure employers no longer overlook extraordinary individuals because of a résumé that only tells part of the story — one that often misses the depth, resilience, and capability that can’t be captured on a page.

I often come back to this idea: what you’ve done (or what’s been done to you) does not define who you are. But it can shape who you become.

At Redefine Alliance, we call that shift turning lived experience into lived expertise.

That’s the perspective I invite you to consider this Fair Chance Month: who might you be overlooking because you haven’t taken the time to see their full expertise?

And if you want a front-row seat to the talent too often missed, look no further than employment social enterprises across the country. There, you’ll find individuals showing up every day, ready to contribute, ready to grow — and ready to be seen for who they truly are.