About Us

Jerry Pender Jr.is the Research Director for the Women’s Institute of Science, Equity, and Race (WISER) a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute that strives to expand women-focused policy research to include the social, economic, cultural, and political well-being of Asian, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous American and Multiracial women. He is also a social justice advocate having formed the non-profit, The Jordan Reentry Cooperative (TJRC), which seeks to help transition formerly incarcerated individuals back into communities with sustainable plans for the future.

At WISER, Jerry is a logistics expert who analyzes data to improve processes for programs that impact disenfranchised communities. He uses his expertise in logistics and business intelligence to recommend policy improvements for childcare, prison transition programs, and veteran transition programs. 

As a certified Georgia Department of Corrections Volunteer Associate, he works with GED students at a local prison to prepare for their exams. His mission to help “returning citizens” transition from prison back to the community led him to establish TJRC as he feels that men and women leaving prison face tough challenges and that everyone deserves a second chance. Pender is planning to devoting more time to TJRC in the near future.

A consistent theme throughout Jerry’s career has been his commitment to serving others.

In addition to his work with WISER and TJRC, Jerry has volunteered to help organize political campaigns, served four years as a Supply Officer in the United States Navy, and is an entrepreneur with extensive experience in the childcare industry.

Jerry also serves as a Visiting Professor in the Business Administration and Economics Department at Morehouse College, where he teaches Principles of Macroeconomics and Basic Statistics. 

TJRC was founded in July 2022 to fill a much-needed void in the communities across the country.