Every Human Being Deserves a Fair and Equal Future.
EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute is a Cleveland-based nonprofit using culinary education, hospitality training and wraparound support to create real opportunities for people returning home from incarceration.
Hospitality Training
Real Standards.
Wraparound Services
Independence. Future.
A Restaurant. A School. A Second Chance.
EDWINS begins with the belief that a person's past should not determine the limits of their future.
Students receive intensive culinary and hospitality training while working in real professional environments where expectations are high, standards matter and every service becomes another opportunity to learn.
But training alone is not enough. Through the EDWINS Second Chance Life Skills Center, students can access housing, legal services, basic medical support, clothing, literacy assistance, job coaching and other resources designed to remove the barriers that can stand between education and long-term success.
The result is more than a culinary program. It is an ecosystem built to help someone learn a craft, establish stability and build a future of their own.
From an Idea to a National Model.
EDWINS has grown one step at a time by asking the same question: what else does a student need to succeed?
Opportunity From Every Direction.
Education, employment experience and life support work together rather than existing as separate programs.
Learn the Craft
Culinary and hospitality training teaches technique, discipline, service, professionalism and the expectations of the industry.
Explore the Program →Work in the Real World
The Restaurant, Bakery and Butcher Shop serve as working classrooms where students learn alongside professionals and serve real guests.
Dine at EDWINS →Build Stability
Housing, family resources, wellness, legal assistance, study space and life-skills support help students focus on completing the work in front of them.
Explore the Campus →Take Education Further
EDWINS also brings culinary education inside correctional institutions and expands access to training beyond Cleveland.
Learn More →
The Story Behind the Mission.
EDWINS and its students were the subject of Knife Skills, the Academy Award-nominated documentary directed by Thomas Lennon.
The film follows students preparing for the opening of EDWINS Restaurant and captures both the demands of professional hospitality and what is at stake when someone is given a genuine second chance.
Leadership, Hospitality & Support.
EDWINS brings together culinary professionals, educators, operators, case managers and community leaders around one shared mission.
Brandon Edwin Chrostowski
Brandon Edwin Chrostowski is the Founder, President, and CEO of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, a nationally recognized nonprofit transforming lives through culinary education, employment, and comprehensive reentry support for formerly incarcerated adults. Brandon worked and studied under acclaimed chefs in Paris, New York, and Chicago, including at Lucas Carton, Chanterelle, Picholine, Le Cirque, and Charlie Trotter’s, experiences that shaped both his culinary standards and his belief in the discipline, dignity, and opportunity the hospitality industry can provide.
Since founding EDWINS in 2007, he has grown the organization into a nationally respected model that serves more than 100 students each year, provides housing and wraparound support, and extends culinary education into prisons nationwide through the EDWINS Culinary Tablet Program. EDWINS maintains a recidivism rate of less than 1% and has expanded to include the Second Chance Life Skills Center, Family Center, Restaurant, Butcher Shop, Bakery & Diner, and Oyster Bar.
Brandon’s work has taken him across the United States and internationally through speaking, education, humanitarian service, and relief efforts, including work connected to Ukraine. His leadership has earned numerous honors, including the 2025 James Beard Impact Award, the 2025 Culinary Institute of America Leadership Award, recognition as a 2023 James Beard Award finalist, the 2020 IFMA Silver Plate Award, CNN Hero honors, and the Richard C. Cornuelle Award for Social Entrepreneurship. His story and EDWINS’ impact were also featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary Knife Skills.
A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Brandon lives in Cleveland with his wife, Catana, and their children, Leo, Lilly, Lynx, Lander and Łukasz. Brandon continues to lead EDWINS with a simple belief: a person’s past should never define their future.
Gerry Grim
Gerry discovered his love of cooking at home before eventually leaving a successful career as a golf professional and teacher to attend Le Cordon Bleu. His culinary career has included work at Pittsburgh's Duquesne Club and alongside Chef Doug Katz at fire food and drink in Cleveland.
Gerry's classical French training and commitment to local, from-scratch cooking eventually brought him to EDWINS. He first volunteered alongside Brandon teaching culinary skills at Grafton Correctional Institution. Inspired by the mission, he joined EDWINS full time and today brings nearly two decades of professional kitchen experience to students and culinary operations.
Jordan Levine
Jordan's restaurant career began washing dishes at his cousin's pizza parlor before progressing through cooking, baking and service positions. While earning his degree in communication from the University of Toledo, he continued developing his culinary skills as a baker and cook.
Back in Cleveland, Jordan spent five years with the Moxie and Red restaurant group before joining L'Albatros Brasserie, where he developed a deep appreciation for French food, wine and formal service. That combination of kitchen knowledge and guest-service experience now informs his approach to operations and hospitality at EDWINS.
Jon Khanna
Jon brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience spanning kitchens, fine dining, beverage programs, restaurant operations and workforce development. After earning his degree in Hospitality Management from The Ohio State University, his career included culinary roles with Hyatt Hotels and Mayfield Sand Ridge Country Club before moving into front-of-house leadership.
At EDWINS, Jon's work reaches across operations, education and program development. He develops front-of-house and beverage curriculum, mentors students and managers, helps lead large-scale dinners and events, and builds systems designed to balance professional standards with accessibility and opportunity. He is also a Certified Sommelier, ServSafe Proctor and Ohio Level 2 Food Safety Instructor.
Chris Keeney
Chris returned to EDWINS as Vice President of Development in 2023 after previously serving as the organization's Director of Development. His career has also included fundraising and community-focused roles with Holden Forests & Gardens, United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
At EDWINS, Chris connects donors, foundations and community partners with the programs that make the mission possible—from education and housing to student support, family services and continued growth across the organization.
Greg Voltz
Greg Voltz is a proud EDWINS alumnus and the institute’s Director of Alumni Relations, bringing a rare combination of professional expertise and lived experience to the role. A native of the Cleveland region, Greg strives to utilize his diverse background to create an engaged and thriving EDWINS alumni community. His goal is to build a program where alumni feel connected, supported, and empowered to give back to the organization that helped shape their journey.
Greg’s professional background spans over 15 years across a variety of fields, from serving as a public servant, where he spearheaded redevelopment and planning initiatives, to working in environmental health, as a production supervisor in boat manufacturing, in culinary roles, and as a managing partner in small business ventures. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography from the University of Cincinnati, where he was a four-year student-athlete.
Anne Cole
Anne Cole has supported EDWINS since its earliest days, volunteering in 2014 to help prepare the original restaurant space for its opening. Over the past 12 years, she has served the organization in a variety of volunteer leadership roles, including co-leading La Bastille and helping to strengthen donor and community engagement.
Anne now serves as Development Associate at EDWINS, building on more than a decade of service to the organization. She has a background in education, administration, and community engagement, with professional experience at Shaker Heights City School District and St. Dominic Parish School of Religion. She brings strong organizational and relationship-building skills, along with a deep commitment to service.
Anne is dedicated to the EDWINS mission and to helping ensure that our students have the support and opportunities they need to move forward.
Ashley Miller
Ashley's interest in cooking began at home before leading him to Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Texas. His career took him through some of the country's most distinctive resort kitchens, including the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, Olympic National Park and later the Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake in Ohio.
Those experiences gave Ashley a broad foundation in high-volume production, classical technique and kitchen leadership. He is a Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Administrator through the American Culinary Federation and now brings that experience into culinary education and mentorship at EDWINS.
Yolanda Starks
Yolanda's love of hospitality began as a child watching her grandmother cook and seeing the way a shared meal brought family, friends and community together. Although she dreamed of culinary school, life took her in another direction until she learned about EDWINS during the pandemic and enrolled in the program.
After graduating, Yolanda entered EDWINS' management training program and continued developing her skills in both food and service. Her experience as a student now informs her leadership as General Manager, giving her a firsthand understanding of the expectations, challenges and opportunities facing the students she helps lead.
Jamal Williams
Jamal first joined EDWINS as a student in 2018 and excelled in both front- and back-of-house training. Following graduation, he became one of the early participants in EDWINS' management training program, gaining experience across the Bakery, EDWINS Too and the Butcher Shop.
Jamal ultimately found his place behind the bar, where his curiosity about spirits and natural connection with guests developed into a leadership role. Today he manages the bar program, creates cocktails and helps introduce both students and guests to new spirits, techniques and experiences.
Alexis Champion
Alexis began baking alongside her mother and pursued that interest professionally through the Baking and Pastry Arts program at Polaris Career Center. After gaining experience around Cleveland, she continued her education at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
Her training included an externship at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, followed by work helping the company open a country club in North Carolina. Returning home to Cleveland, Alexis was drawn to EDWINS by its mission and now uses pastry as both a craft and a way to mentor students entering the hospitality industry.
Griffin Johnson
Griffin brings more than two decades of hospitality experience to EDWINS. Her background includes work at the Shoreby Club, Sergio's, L'Albatros, Chinato and Cowell & Hubbard, along with culinary coursework at the Art Institute of Dallas.
Griffin also has deep roots in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, where she grew up. That combination of hospitality experience and connection to the community makes her role at EDWINS a natural extension of both: building relationships, representing the organization and helping connect its work to the community around it.
Derrick Speights
Derrick began his career in healthcare before moving into hospitality and culinary arts. He met Brandon while working at L'Albatros and went on to build more than a decade of experience in guest relations and restaurant management before joining EDWINS.
Today Derrick works across the Second Chance Campus and the broader community. He supports students and volunteers, helps lead EDWINS Culinary Clubs inside Ohio prisons and oversees community initiatives including the Town Hall series. As he describes his decision to join EDWINS: helping people is now at the center of the work.
Learn the Craft. Support the Mission. Be Part of EDWINS.
Whether you are looking for a second chance, want to see the campus firsthand or want to help make the next opportunity possible, there is a place for you at EDWINS.