From incarceration to education: Cordero Holmes aims to keep Phoenix kids out of prison

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From incarcerated individual to director of operations of a Phoenix-based youth-focused organization aimed at empowering kids and teens, Cordero Holmes has learned a major lesson: education is integral to breaking the prison cycle.

And he’s taken that knowledge with him in each of his pursuits post-incarceration.

The Arizona State University 2025 MLK Jr. Student Servant Leadership Award honoree once thought of pursuing a career in public office, but working with youth has him thinking differently about his work, realizing the impact that a mentor can have in their lives.

“I aim to be the mentor that I wanted,” Holmes told The Arizona Republic. “I try to meet kids where they’re at. The power of a mentor could be a make-it or break-it point for a young person.”

Learning through incarceration

Having grown up in the Simpson neighborhood in west Phoenix.

He was a minor when he got involved with a local gang, selling drugs and stealing. Holmes didn’t feel that he had many other options at the time, he said. Much like many kids he sees in his old neighborhood and other Phoenix areas.

Holmes spent 10 years in prison after being sentenced for robbing a bank. He educated himself and learned the value of community support in breaking free from cycles of crime, poverty, and racial inequity.

He carried that lesson with him into his pursuit of higher education and when he began speaking at the Durango Juvenile Detention Facility, where he is an ongoing guest speaker.

Mentorship, he found, was something he didn’t know he needed those many years ago living in Simpson. And it’s what he carries with him in his leadership role in Progress Pushers.

Progress Pushers in Phoenix

Progress Pushers is a non-profit that was started by Eddie Purpose in Washington State that serves at-risk youth.

Purpose got the idea while he was incarcerated and launched it once he was released. He wanted to give back to society by helping others re-enter the world post-incarceration, or perhaps avoid it altogether, Holmes said.

Project Pushers’ uses the Credible Messenger Program model, a “transformative mentoring initiative to support justice-involved individuals with a successful return to community,” according to their website.

“I’ve seen the community impact,” Holmes said of the program originally designed by Eddie Ellis, a former Black Panther. “This works.”

During his time in prison, Eddie Purpose met Coy Graham.

When Graham came back to his hometown, he decided to start a chapter in Phoenix. He connected with Holmes, who was already doing work in the field and launched Progress Pushers in late 2024.

The Arizona chapter of Progress Pushers, where Holmes serves as director of operations, has a contract with Desiderata High School, a PXU school where youth who have issues with their current neighborhood school attend classes with the level of attention needed to succeed.

Through this collaboration, the program runs an 8-week curriculum created specifically for 16 to 19-year-olds that teaches life skills, leadership development and job readiness.

Many of the students they work with come from the juvenile courts, but it’s ultimately a mixture of those who have been justice-impacted as well as those who have been trying to stay away from it.

The belief behind the program is that all youth have what it takes to be community leader and their power as influencers for younger generations and peers is immeasurable.

Holmes continues learning

After incarceration, Holmes earned two associate degrees from Rio Salado College before pursuing a bachelor’s at ASU in Public Policy and Public Service.

He is now pursuing a dual master’s degree in Public Administration and Criminology and Criminal Justice, choosing this track because he felt it was the best way to serve others in a leadership role.

His real-world experience in community impact has taught him that change comes from within the community. He aims to do just that, having played with the idea of running for office in Arizona. But a PhD might be in his future immediately after completing his master’s.

“I’m seeing the gaps that exist in research, in policy, in practice,” Holmes said. “Do I want to take that route in a dissertation, or do I want to go about doing it differently by taking a seat in office?”