Bianca Tylek

Bianca Tylek is recognized as a leading expert on the prison industry and an advocate for dismantling the commercial forces that drive mass incarceration. She is the author of "The Prison Industry: How It Works and Who Profits" and the founder and executive director of Worth Rises, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending the exploitation associated with the prison industry.

Tylek's work is informed by her direct experience with the criminal legal system as a youth, which she has channeled into a career focused on criminal justice reform and prison industry accountability. Prior to her work in justice reform, Tylek worked as a financial analyst at Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. She later earned her J.D. from Harvard, where she was involved with Harvard Defenders, the Prison Legal Assistance Project, and the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review. Before founding Worth Rises, Tylek contributed to the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign to End Mass Incarceration at the American Civil Liberties Union, and co-founded College Way, a program supporting students on Rikers Island pursuing higher education after release.

Tylek established Worth Rises to dismantle the prison industry and end the exploitation of incarcerated individuals and their families. The organization is known for its research, policy advocacy, corporate activism, and initiatives that address the intersection of private industry and mass incarceration. Tylek has played a key role in advancing policies that provide free prison and jail communication, resulting in significant cost savings for families and expanded access to communication for incarcerated people. Her efforts have also influenced the prison industry by blocking mergers, encouraging divestment, limiting access to capital, and removing prison profiteers from cultural institution boards.

Worth Rises released the report "The Prison Industrial Complex: Mapping Private Sector Players," which identifies more than 3,100 corporations across 12 sectors profiting from mass incarceration. Tylek's book, "The Prison Industry," examines how private corporations and government partners generate revenue from incarceration, with chapters on labor, telecommunications, healthcare, community corrections, and other sectors.

Tylek has testified before Congress, presented at events such as SXSW and TED, and her work has been featured in New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic, NPR, The Nation, Mother Jones, CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. She has received recognition as an Ashoka Fellow, Elevate Prize Winner, Draper Richard Kaplan Entrepreneur, Art for Justice Fellow, TED Fellow, Equal Justice Works Fellow, Harvard University Presidential Public Service Fellow, Ford Foundation Public Interest Fellow, Paul & Daisy Soros New American Fellow, and Education Pioneers Analyst Fellow.

Tylek's experience spans finance, law, policy, and grassroots organizing, establishing her as a prominent voice on the intersection of capitalism, incarceration, and racial justice.