WASHINGTON, D.C.—FBI Director Christopher Wray presented Danny Ludeman with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award at a national ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on April 20, 2018. Mr. Ludeman is one of 57 remarkable individuals or organizations across the country being honored for extraordinary service to their communities. During the ceremony, Director Wray praised the recipients, “Many days you’re doing thankless work so we want to make sure that we thank you.”

Mr. Ludeman retired in 2013 as CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors. Instead of enjoying a relaxing retirement after a corporate career, Mr. Ludeman went above and beyond as a citizen to improve the St. Louis region. He chose to dedicate his time and energy to tackle the complex challenge of reducing the recidivism rate thereby reducing crime. As president and CEO, Mr. Ludeman used his business talents and relationships to help raise $13 million in pledges to establish Concordance Academy.

“I’m incredibly honored to accept this award on behalf of Concordance Academy—our team members, our Board of Directors, our community partners and volunteers,” said Mr. Ludeman. “Incarceration impacts more than 100 million people, and St. Louis is showing the rest of the world that this problem can be solved.”

At Concordance, all re-entry services for an individual are housed under one roof in a 31,000-square-foot facility in Maryland Heights. It is the first organization in the country to offer a set of “holistic, integrated, evidence-driven” re-entry services. The 18-month program helps ease the transition from prison to society and to find a path to success for former inmates.

Concordance Academy enrolled its first “pilot” class less than two years ago in June 2016, and has since provided pre- and post-release services to more than 270 individuals. While the sampling is small, the results are trending in the right direction. As of March 31, 2018, 165 Academy participants have been released from prison. Among that group, recidivism rates were reduced by more than half. According to the National Institute of Justice, 77% of individuals released from prison are re-arrested within three to five years nationally.

Concordance currently offers its services at three state prisons in Missouri. Ultimately, the goal is to replicate the program nationwide.

For information on all the recipients of the 2017 Director’s Community Leadership Award, visit https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2017-directors-community-leadership-awards-042018.