Oscar Benitez

Managing Director, Diversion & Reentry

San Francisco, CA

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Oscar is a Managing Director leading the Diversion and Reentry Practice Area at Third Sector, where he designs and implements all criminal-legal system reform and homelessness solutions nationwide. For almost a decade, he and his teams have been problem-solvers for state and county departments and community-based organizations in red, blue, and purple states to make government systems work better and be more responsive to the needs of residents facing the highest barriers to well-being and economic opportunity. 

Oscar has convened workforce development boards, community colleges, District Attorney Offices, Parole & Probation Departments, Departments of Corrections, Continuums of Care, housing authorities, and Departments of Human Services to launch cross-departmental initiatives that reduce incarceration and homelessness, and improve employment and health care outcomes. He has synchronized public and philanthropic resources for initiatives that address inequities faced by adults, young adults, and their families by expanding evidence-based therapies, substance use disorder treatment, career pathway training, peer support specialists, and permanent supportive housing programs. These efforts have been successful due to the tools, behavior changes, and continuous improvement processes developed for government staff and their community partners to manage programs toward specific benchmarks.  

Before joining Third Sector, Oscar was an investor, broadcaster, and researcher after starting his career in the LA Mayor’s Office of Housing and Economic Development. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, completed the Bridge Program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and was selected as a Gates Millennium Scholar through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.