Getting Out and Staying Out: A Passion for Success

If there is anyone who should look and feel out of place in the corridors of Riker’s Island, it is Mark Goldsmith. A retired cosmetics executive who once headed up Yves St. Laurent in the United States, Goldsmith carries himself with an easy going polish and self assurance that seems more appropriate for lunch at the Four Seasons. Yet, Goldsmith has found himself a new home.

School of Hard Knocks

In the three years since he started working with Rikers Island inmates, Mark Goldsmith has drastically increased the odds of success for hundreds of newly released young men in danger of slipping right back into jail.