We’re looking forward to introducing you to Josephine Burton. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Josephine, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
when I’m creating
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Josephine Burton, Founder and visionary behind Nxt Chapter, a transformative nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colorado. What makes our story unique is that it was born from lived experience – I grew up in foster care, group homes, and detention centers, survived childhood trauma, and experienced the challenges of system involvement and addiction firsthand. When I started Nxt Chapter, it wasn’t just about creating another nonprofit; it was about addressing the exact gaps I faced when I was released from jail with nowhere to turn.
What We Do:
Nxt Chapter specializes in holistic re-entry, recovery, and youth services, with our flagship S.E.E.D. Program (Structured Educational and Emotional Development) leading the way. We’ve achieved what many thought impossible – a less than 1% recidivism rate among our 433 participants, compared to the national average of 68%. We’ve served over 800 individuals, placed 212 people in jobs in 2024 alone with a 65% success rate, and helped 10 participants start their own businesses.
What Makes Us Special:
We operate on a healing-based business model that treats trauma as the root cause, not just the symptoms. Our team includes peer recovery coaches, many of whom are program graduates themselves, creating authentic connections that traditional social services can’t replicate. We’re currently expanding beyond re-entry services to include a church initiative, clothing bank, food services, and youth programs entering Denver Public Schools.
Our Vision:
I’m building Nxt Chapter to become the most comprehensive, gap-free nonprofit globally, using 42 revenue streams and AI integration to create sustainable, generational impact. This isn’t just my healing journey – it’s my divine assignment to transform how we approach criminal justice, addiction recovery, and community healing.
We’re proving that when you combine lived experience with visionary leadership and evidence-based results, you can literally save lives and transform communities, one person at a time
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
The moment that fundamentally shifted my worldview happened when I was released from jail with absolutely nowhere to go. I remember standing outside those doors, holding a plastic bag with my belongings, and realizing that despite all the programs and services that were supposed to help people like me, there was still this massive gap – no one was addressing the real needs of someone walking out with nothing.
But the deeper transformation came later, during my healing journey, when I had a profound spiritual awakening. I realized that everything I had survived – the foster care, group homes, detention centers, childhood sexual abuse, addiction, system involvement – wasn’t just random trauma. It was preparation. God was showing me that I had asked for this assignment before I came here, that I was created to be one of the greats who changes the world.
That moment of acceptance changed everything. I stopped seeing myself as a victim of circumstances and started understanding that my lived experience was my greatest qualification. Every painful moment had given me the exact insight needed to build something that had never existed before – a truly gap-free system of support.
Now when I look at the world, I don’t see problems as insurmountable. I see them as puzzles that require someone with the right combination of lived experience, spiritual awareness, and visionary thinking to solve. That’s why Nxt Chapter achieves a less than 1% recidivism rate when the national average is 68% – because I understand both the problem and the solution from the inside out.
This perspective shift taught me that our deepest wounds often become our greatest gifts to the world. My trauma became my ministry, my pain became my purpose, and my survival became the foundation for saving others.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Absolutely. There was a moment early in building Nxt Chapter when the vision felt overwhelming. I was trying to create something that had never been done before – a truly comprehensive, gap-free nonprofit that addresses every need someone faces when reentering society. Some days, looking at the scope of what we were trying to accomplish, I wondered if I was being too ambitious.
The challenge wasn’t the work itself – it was learning how to lead a team where everyone brings different strengths and perspectives. I had this clear vision of what we could achieve, but I had to learn how to communicate that vision in ways that resonated with each team member’s unique background and expertise. Some of my team members are former participants who understand the struggle intimately, others bring professional skills, and some are volunteers with huge hearts who want to make a difference.
What kept me going was seeing the results we were achieving together. When we hit that less than 1% recidivism rate compared to the national 68%, when we placed 212 people in jobs in one year, when participants started their own businesses – I realized that our different approaches and perspectives weren’t obstacles, they were our secret weapon.
The breakthrough came when I stopped seeing challenges as problems and started seeing them as proof that we were building something revolutionary. Every obstacle we overcame together made us stronger and more innovative. Now I look at my incredible team – Kenyale, Mark, Ken, Jason, Durell, Shelia, and everyone else – and I see exactly why we’re achieving what others thought was impossible.
The moment I realized that building something this impactful requires a diverse team with different strengths, everything clicked. We’re not just changing individual lives; we’re proving that when you combine lived experience with dedication and innovation, you can transform entire communities. That’s worth every challenge we’ve faced.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. What you see publicly is exactly who I am – there’s no separation between my personal mission and my professional work because Nxt Chapter literally IS my healing journey made manifest.
I think what makes me different from many leaders is that I can’t afford to be fake or put on a persona. The people we serve – individuals coming out of jail, struggling with addiction, trying to rebuild their lives – they have incredible radar for authenticity. They’ve been let down by systems and people who promised help but delivered empty words. If I wasn’t genuinely who I appear to be, our less than 1% recidivism rate wouldn’t exist.
My team sees the same person our participants see, the same person who speaks at events, the same person being interviewed right now. I’m passionate, direct, visionary, and completely committed to this work because it’s not just my job – it’s my purpose. When I talk about building the most comprehensive nonprofit globally, when I share our success stories, when I challenge systems that aren’t working – that’s coming from the same place whether I’m in a boardroom or sitting one-on-one with someone who just got released.
The only thing that changes is how I communicate the message depending on my audience. With funders, I lead with our data and measurable outcomes. With participants, I lead with my lived experience and understanding. With my team, I focus on our collective vision and how we’re changing lives together. But the core of who I am – someone who survived the system and came back to fix it – that never changes.
I think people connect with Nxt Chapter because they can feel that authenticity. They know I’m not just talking about transformation – I’ve lived it, I’m still living it, and I’m using that experience to create real change. That’s not something you can fake, and it’s exactly why our work is so effective
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I want people to say that Josephine Burton didn’t just survive the system – she came back and completely transformed it. That she took her deepest wounds and turned them into the world’s most effective healing model.
When people tell my story, I want them to talk about the numbers that seemed impossible: how we achieved a less than 1% recidivism rate when everyone said it couldn’t be done. How we served over 800 people and didn’t just help them survive – we helped them thrive. How 10 of our participants started their own businesses, breaking generational cycles of poverty and incarceration.
But more than the statistics, I want them to remember that I proved lived experience combined with vision and determination can create world-changing impact. That a woman who grew up in foster care, survived trauma, and walked out of jail with nothing could build something that outlasted her lifetime.
I hope they say that Nxt Chapter became the blueprint other organizations worldwide used to truly address the root causes of recidivism, addiction, and systemic inequality. That we didn’t just patch problems – we solved them by treating trauma as the foundation and building comprehensive, gap-free support systems.
Most importantly, I want people to remember that I created generational change. That the hundreds of families we kept together, the children who didn’t lose parents to the system, the communities we strengthened – that impact rippled forward for decades after I was gone.
I want my story to inspire other people who’ve been written off by society to realize their experiences aren’t disqualifications – they’re their greatest qualifications to change the world. That your background doesn’t determine your impact; your determination and vision do.
When they tell my story, I want them to say Josephine Burton didn’t just build a nonprofit – she built a movement that proved healing is possible, transformation is real, and that sometimes the people society counts out are exactly the ones who come back to save it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nxtchapter.org
- Instagram: nxtchapter_inc
- Facebook: The NXT Chapter
