NCCHC Foundation Board Welcomes Brandon De Julius and Augie Ghilarducci

The NCCHC Foundation is pleased to announce the election of two extraordinary individuals to its Board of Trustees: Brandon De Julius, MBA, CCHP-A, CEO of CFG Health Systems, and August ‘Augie’ Ghilarducci, MBA, founder and president of 2nd Opportunity and 2nd Opp Media Group.

Brandon De Julius brings to the role more than a decade of leadership in correctional health care and a strong commitment to advancing the mission of the Foundation. As CEO of CFG Health, he leads one of the country’s premier providers of correctional health care services. With a focus on optimizing health services operations and innovative care delivery models, he has spearheaded numerous initiatives to enhance health care quality and access in correctional settings. 

“I am thrilled to join the NCCHC Foundation Board and contribute to the important work of expanding educational opportunities and improving correctional health care services,” he said. “Providing health care to incarcerated individuals is a higher calling for me. NCCHC was introduced to me as the gold standard in correctional health care and remains as such. I am passionate about the work done by NCCHC.”  

De Julius is a member of NCCHC’s Young Professionals Committee and holds certification as a CCHP-Advanced.

Augie Ghilarducci brings to the NCCHC Foundation a wealth of unique personal experience and leadership in providing programs and transformational tools that empower individuals to break free from the cycles of incarceration, addiction, and trauma. 

After owning and operating a successful financial planning firm for 15 years, Ghilarducci was convicted of investment fraud and served 13 years in the federal prison system. During his incarceration, he developed life-skills and employment-readiness programs, using his time to help his incarcerated colleagues build brighter futures. Upon his release in 2017, Ghilarducci transformed this passion into 2nd Opportunity, a program now operating in jails, prisons, recovery centers, and workforce development organizations in 18 states. 2nd Opportunity provides a range of courses on employment readiness, financial literacy, life skills, and reentry preparation and also connects individuals with employment, job training, mental health and recovery services, housing opportunities, and peer mentoring support. 

“It is my honor to serve on the Board of Trustees of the NCHC Foundation,” said Ghilarducci. “Reentry and workforce development are the things that drive me professionally. I am a firsthand witness to the essential function of reentry planning and the ability to find a meaningful career that provides a living wage and benefits.”

“We are thrilled to have Augie and Brandon join our Board,” said Sharen Barboza, PhD, CCHP-MH, chairperson of the NCCHC Foundation. “Their deep and varied experience align perfectly with our goals of supporting workforce development, creating educational initiatives, strengthening reentry programs, supporting the success of reentering individuals, and improving health outcomes for incarcerated individuals.” 

They replace Todd Schwartz, MA, CCHP, a founding member of the board from the Foundation’s beginning in 2019, and Peter Perroncello, MS, CJM, CCHP, who served from 2021.

Learn more about the NCCHC Foundation.