Date: Wednesdays, 

October 14, 21, 28; November  4, 11, 18 & 25

(7 sessions)

Time: 8:00-9:30 ET / 7:00-8:30 CT / 6:00-7:30 MT
 

Click here for enrollment: https://forms.gle/LSRE1phfkxnBwUFM7

The zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87168249935

 

From Reaction to Response

With - Wilfredo Laracuente & Scott Pollack

 

Course Objectives

Explore how thoughts influence emotions, decisions, relationships, and conflict, while learning practical strategies for responding more effectively to challenges in everyday life.

 

Session 1 - Scott Pollack

Help participants understand how their interpretations influence their reactions during disagreements. Participants will practice pausing and choosing responses that support their relationships and reentry goals.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

  • Distinguish an observation from an assumption.
  • Describe how thoughts influence responses and potential outcomes.
  • Use Stop, Recognize, Consider, Choose, Respond to work through a disagreement.
  • Identify one response to practice in support of a personal goal.

 

 

The Facilitators:

Wilfredo Laracuente is a Group Facilitator with the Fortune Society, where he facilitates Cognitive Behavioral Interventions (CBI), Career Development Workshops, and programming focused on personal growth, decision-making, and successful community reintegration.

A recipient of the Brian Fischer Humanitarian Award, he also serves on the Manhattan District Attorney's Reentry Advisory Council and has worked as a Teaching Assistant with the Columbia University Prison Education Program.

Drawing from both lived experience and professional practice, Wilfredo helps individuals understand how thoughts influence emotions, relationships, conflict, and decision-making, with a focus on creating positive and lasting change.

 

 

Scott Pollack , after being justice-impacted for just over three years, is dedicated to using his collective experiences and his connection to God to empower others. His ultimate goals are to help others walking a similar path as him, and to remake our justice system into one of care and accountability that truly serves the needs of all communities.

Currently serving a three-year-to-life parole term, Scott has reinvented himself as a full-time courtwatcher with the Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice (ILARJ). Working within the Skokie Court House, he combines skills from his past career in education with his more recent paralegal studies to collect vital courtroom data for voters.  

He has also been blessed with the opportunity to work as a researcher and writer for the Reentry Resource Program. In this role, he enhanced registry-related content for the 2026 Mapping Your Future resource book, which is distributed in IDOC prisons across the state.

Additionally, Scott is an active participant with Hinda, engaging in programming like the Rebounders virtual support group and the Peer Support Specialist training program. He lives on the northern edge of Chicago, just three miles north of Wrigley Field, and is the proud father of three amazing children.

After being justice-impacted for just over three years, Scott Pollack is dedicated to using his collective experiences and his connection to God to empower others. His ultimate goals are to help others walking a similar path as him, and to remake our justice system into one of care and accountability that truly serves the needs of all communities.

Currently serving a three-year-to-life parole term, Scott has reinvented himself as a full-time courtwatcher with the Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice (ILARJ). Working within the Skokie Court House, he combines skills from his past career in education with his more recent paralegal studies to collect vital courtroom data for voters.  

He has also been blessed with the opportunity to work as a researcher and writer for the Reentry Resource Program. In this role, he enhanced registry-related content for the 2026 Mapping Your Future resource book, which is distributed in IDOC prisons across the state.

Additionally, Scott is an active participant with Hinda, engaging in programming like the Rebounders virtual support group and the Peer Support Specialist training program. He lives on the northern edge of Chicago, just three miles north of Wrigley Field, and is the proud father of three amazing children.