August Ghilarducci
About Augie Ghilarducci
After graduating from St. Joseph’s College in Indiana, Augie founded and operated a Financial Planning and Business Consulting Firm for 17 years. In the late 1990’s he made a series of bad decisions that were contrary to his values and upbringing. He served 12 years in a Federal Prison, convicted of investment fraud.
He used this time to reflect, read, write, study, and speak about ethics, his failures, and the lessons he learned. He researched, created, and instructed Values-Aligned Goal Setting©. This comprehensive program provides a system for those who have experienced a Life Changing Event, equipping them to formulate and execute a plan to successfully overcome these challenges. Most recently he has developed and presented a program based on his recent lived experience Keeping It Real: A Path to Re-entry. These programs are being made available through computer tablets in jails and prisons throughout the country.
While incarcerated he instructed more than 100 courses under the supervision of the Education Department. This mission has continued into a career. Through 2nd Opportunity L3C he now provides Life Skill and Employment Readiness program in Cook County, Kane County, Kendall County and Woodford County Jails, Halfway Houses, Substance Abuse Recovery Centers, The Women’s Treatment Center and with Opportunity Youth Groups throughout the Chicagoland area.
Current projects include consulting with Heartland Alliance’s “Onboard Program.” Augie has assisted in developing a curriculum and conducts training to frontline managers, informing of barriers faced by formerly incarcerated individuals. He has assisted in developing management tools reflective of trauma informed principles.
In January 2020 Augie was asked to serve as Director of Housing and Employment at Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center. This allows him to assist the populations he serves with the “Economic Empowerment Model” of housing and employment.
His expanding network includes raising awareness with employers to hire from the populations in which he serves. He has commitments from local employers for hundreds of job opportunities. This is functioning under self-created models: “A Collaboration for Social Benefit” and “A Path to a Meaningful Career.”
He is currently an MBA candidate, with a concentration in Leadership and has completed a Master’s in Business Ethics (2018) at Loyola University – Chicago Quinlan School of Business.
