Division Street Outdoor Contracting was founded in 2017 and focuses on providing ex-offenders with job opportunities through the beautification and improvement of the same communities they call home.
The company is owned and operated by Alex Smith.
Alex started his journey of advocating for returning citizens through job opportunities while he himself was incarcerated. Alex was part of a group of inmates who petitioned the warden for permission to start a horticulture program in prison. There, he became a Master Gardener behind bars, and that program has now spread to other facilities in the state of Maryland.
Instead of asking for a seat at the table,
you build your own table
ALEX SMITH, FOUNDER
Now home, after serving 15 years of his 30-year sentence, Alex has been busy creating opportunities for others. In 2016 he created the Urban Roots Apprenticeship, a training program at the Baltimore Tree Trust, where he served as the Director of Operations for five years. Over this time, Alex was responsible for overseeing the planting of over 9,000 trees in Baltimore City.
He also created Division Street Academy under his own company with the goal of training returning citizens and community members in landscaping and entrepreneurship, specifically in the landscaping industry. He also consults Workforce Development programs across the country that focus on the green job industry.
Alex believes that there is a special kind of healing that takes place when the citizens of a community, who once destroyed the community, play a vital role in beautifying and maintaining those same places.
At Division Street Outdoor Contracting, he manages day-to-day operations, working with clients, and securing new partnerships.
