Dr. William E. Arnold, Jr., is a nationally recognized speaker, reentry practitioner, and servant leader who champions the power of second chances—showing how redemption and reinvention transform lives, workplaces, and communities. In 2013, he was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 25 years for crimes he did not commit.

After nearly seven years in prison, his case was unanimously overturned, the sentence vacated, and the charges dismissed—making him the first person granted relief by Nashville’s Conviction Review Unit. Returning to society determined to advocate for justice-involved individuals, he turned his own “Second Chance” into a platform for systemic change.

In 2021, he was appointed Director of the Tennessee Office of Reentry (TOOR), the first state-funded reentry office housed within a Department of Labor. Under his leadership, TOOR has connected more than 6,500 justice-involved Tennesseans with employment. In July 2025, TOOR earned the prestigious State Transformation in Action Recognition (STAR) Award from the Council of State Governments’ Southern Legislative Conference.