CHECKMATE FOR THE INMATE From Bars to Business

Reentry calls for incredible resilience, determination, and a strong support system. For those looking to rebuild their lives, this journey often involves a significant change in perspective, restoring trust with authorities, communities, and families, and seeking a renewed sense of purpose.

Wendy Oliveras has crafted a valuable and practical guide in Checkmate for the Inmate: From Bars to Business. Her book offers a framework for tackling these challenges, leveraging her ten years of experience teaching life skills and entrepreneurship to incarcerated individuals, which shaped her understanding of effective strategies for promoting personal growth, resilience, and reintegration.

Wendy Oliveras is a writer who has authored several business books and articles, including Checkmate for the Inmate: From Bars to Business; Checkmate Moves for Business Startups: Tactical Advantages from Gameboard to Life; and Let's Play SHESS: Succeed in your game of life and business by playing chess – from Pawn to Queen. Her books aim to inspire and empower inmates, ex-offenders, veterans, and women in life and business through basic chess strategies and tactics for their future success.

Wendy has spent the last decade teaching life skills and entrepreneurship to inmates at a corrections facility in New Jersey, empowering them to turn their business ideas into reality and learn basic chess skills. This dedication inspired her to write Checkmate for The Inmate. Her passion motivates her to show people how being their own boss can positively transform their lives.

Wendy is the Creative Founder & CEO at SHESS Global Alliance, LLC, and a Business Consultant for the New Jersey Small Business Development Center at Rutgers University-Newark. She provides guidance, consultation, and mentorship to entrepreneurs and inventors on launching, scaling, and expanding their businesses. She also facilitates several of their workshops and webinars. Her advisory and training services cater to companies in the corporate, education, non-profit, and government sectors.

Wendy holds an honorary Master's Degree in Human Resources Management and a post-graduate Certification in Career Planning and Development from The New School in New York City, along with a Certificate in Mental Health First Aid. She is fluent in Spanish and has a diverse background that includes experience in legal recruitment, intellectual property, small business consulting, human resources, career mentoring, and educational and leadership training.

Wendy is passionate about chess and uses her skills as a business advisor, author, speaker, and trainer to empower inmates, ex-offenders, veterans, and women in business with chess strategies and tactics for success.