Kevin T. Gay is the Founder of Operation New Hope and led the organization as CEO from 1999-2022. Under Kevin’s 23 years of stewardship, Operation New Hope helped more than 10,000 individuals impacted by the criminal justice system successfully reconnect to the workforce, their families, and their communities. Kevin put Jacksonville on the national stage for leading the movement in reentry and criminal justice reform. Kevin’s impact is evident in the transformation stories of clients, enhanced hiring practices for employers, healthier communities and families, and increased public safety.

Kevin T. Gay is a native of Jacksonville, FL and a graduate of the University of Florida. He left corporate America in 1999 and founded Operation New Hope to create a new model for community development. He felt that while there were many houses in many urban communities in need of major restoration there were also many people broken and in need of Hope once again. Thus, Operation New Hope was born to bring Hope in the form of new housing, new skills leading to new jobs and a revitalized community. In June of 2002, Kevin was invited to meet with President George W. Bush and Secretary of labor Elain Chao. This meeting led to ONH being selected by the White House to develop the first national model for Prisoner Re­ entry called Ready4Work. This employment-based re-entry model was then introduced in 16 other cities around the country. Ready4Work Jacksonville has gained national attention because of its impact in reducing recidivism.

He is a founding member of Reconcile Jacksonville, which has been responsible for partnering over forty black and white churches since 1992. In 2003, the City of Jacksonville nominated Kevin for a national award through Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) and on May 22, 2003 he and nine others from around the country received the prestigious NUSA Notables Award. Previous winners are Willard Scott of the Today Show and distinguished television personality Ms. Oprah Winfrey.

Kevin has served on numerous community boards including HabiJax, one of the nation’s largest Habitat for Humanity affiliates, Gateway Community Services and the Florida Alliance of Community Development Corporations (the “FLACDC). He served on the management committee for the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. study called “Neighborhoods on the Tipping Point.” He was asked by the Jacksonville Sherriff’s office to be on the management team of a study to address violence called “Reducing the Violence: A Community Response.” Kevin served on Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Walter McNeil’s Prisoner Re-entry Advisory Board for the State of Florida, is currently serving as Chairman on the Kids Hope Alliance, and in 2021 was selected to serve on the Florida Bar Citizens Advisory Commission.

In October of 2007, President Bill Clinton cited Kevin for his work in prisoner re-entry in his book called “Giving- How Each of Us Can Change the World”. Kevin was invited by President Bush in 2008 to join him at the White House in the signing of the “Second Chance Act”. During the Presidential Campaign in July of 2008, President Barack Obama mentioned the Ready4Work re­ entry program in a national speech on religion. Kevin is a contributor on several publications on re-entry including:  Governor Bush’s Ex-Offender Task Force Report in 2006, as well as on several publications through Forbes Magazine and the Council of State Governments-Justice Council on re-entry.