
Ameelio
Model & Strategy
Ameelio is a technology nonprofit that leverages software to combat mass incarceration. By bringing its free communication and education platform into prisons across the country, Ameelio is disrupting a predatory $3 billion prison telecommunications industry. Ameelio is determined to create a more humane and rehabilitative corrections system for over 2.2 million incarcerated people and their 27 million loved ones, with the ultimate goal to reduce recidivism and sustainably decarcerate the U.S.
Their SaaS platform is currently scaling four state prison systems, representing 40 facilities and 33,000 incarcerated people. Their written communications mobile app, Ameelio Mail, has over 350,000 users and has connected over 600,000 families and incarcerated loved ones since its inception in 2020. In May of 2022, Ameelio is launching the first-ever free-to-use prison education platform in several state prison systems.
Ameelio’s mission is to fundamentally transform a broken system that thrives on poverty. It is estimated that 50% of prisoners have no earnings in the eight years leading up to their incarceration. In the year immediately preceding, that percentage jumps to 80%. Ameelio is one of the boldest and most innovative responses to criminal justice reform due to the recognition that sustainable decarceration is only possible if we provide the incarcerated with the vital resources and pathways (educational equity, economic mobility, societal support, etc.) that they lacked prior to incarceration.



Growing up in Nigeria, Zo saw firsthand the coexistence of poverty and wealth. Reflecting on his upbringing, he recalls wrestling with the role that chance played in his life. He happened to be born to parents who, despite being raised in villages, were able to prioritize higher education as a means to a better life while neighbors and family members struggled with poverty. Witnessing this inspired Zo to seek solutions for those who have been disadvantaged not through their actions but rather through the random lottery of the conditions of their birth.
After moving to the United States, Zo’s pursuit came into focus in high school as he saw friends, many of them African-American, enter the prison system. Through college and a Masters at Cambridge, he sought to understand why so many Americans were affected by mass incarceration. While studying Criminology focused on sentencing reduction, prosecutorial reform, and more, Zo realized that very few solutions were directed at what he saw as the root cause of the problem: poverty.
The inspiration for Ameelio was thus not a single moment but rather two decades of lived experience combined with a deep commitment of service to others. What Zo has created in Ameelio is not only a breakthrough in technology but also in compassion. The progress Zo is enabling through technology is uniquely remarkable simply because he’s the first to leverage it in this way. His work is a powerful testament to the ability of brilliant and intentional humans to make meaningful impact in the lives of those whose barriers may seem insurmountable.
Impact
Ameelio has signed four state prison contracts
Scaling to serve 33,000 incarcerated people
Launching the first-ever free-to-use prison education platform
Ameelio Mail has over 350,000 users and has connected over 600,000 families and incarcerated loved ones
Ameelio Mail has sent over 2 million pieces of mail to over 5,200 correctional facilities in all 50 states
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The importance of being able to #connect & be a part of the outs when in #prison, through the voice and eyes of Cor… https://t.co/mBJlDQitJ2
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The future of corrections...? Here's 60 seconds with Beth Skinner, Director of IDOC and her take on Ameelio in our… https://t.co/QQIVrXPmdI
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All fired up last week, our team members April and Nick, at the @codeforamerica Summit! The future of civic tech ha… https://t.co/YSRanIo2WY
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RT @WorthRises: BREAKING! WE WON — AGAIN! @GovTimWalz just signed a bill to connect families, making Minnesota the 4th state to make prison…
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Ameelio is optimized for corrections with built-in security features like no other service out there. Take a look a… https://t.co/Z4SkMUzLBE
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Lawyers, doctors, teachers, service providers: we are here for you. Ameelio has secure features built specifically… https://t.co/M6WxMqJT8f
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RT @WorthRises: BREAKING! 🚨 We WON! Colorado just passed HB23-1133 to make all prison calls FREE across state prisons and connect families.…
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We are excited that the House put free jail & prison phone calls in its FY24 budget proposal! Join us in asking the… https://t.co/pEilBDRgMN
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Check out our CEO and Co-Founder @uzomazo on the latest episode of Worthy for Thirty! https://t.co/6GlKBZydkV
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RT @teamameelio: Our ecosystem of family communication products offers solutions for video calls, voice calls, and messaging with your inca…
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RT @ssurovell: Prisoners shouldn't be a profit center & the quality of jail time should not be a function of wealth - the @VASenateDems tri…
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Our ecosystem of family communication products offers solutions for video calls, voice calls, and messaging with yo… https://t.co/DREYPSn2zD
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Hello NYC! We are on Times Square! Thank you @brexHQ for helping us spread our message! #growwithbrex
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Thank you, @reidhoffman, for the shoutout in your new book! "I am a proud supporter of Ameelio, a not-for-profit… https://t.co/kWlrRIpTDM
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We're so grateful and proud to be one of @FastCompany's Most Innovative Non-Profits of 2023 for building technolog… https://t.co/aoYhhs3Y26
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So excited to be pitching at #SXSW2023 with US Conference of Mayors! Austin here we come! #civictech @usmayors… https://t.co/zrXaccjkwL
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Incarcerated Georgians and their loved ones have struggled to stay in touch after the GDC began switching communica… https://t.co/jWKPxpWO7h
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Thank you so much, all the ladies of Wine & Dresses #WAD! We are inspired by you all and your dedication to justice… https://t.co/T7jVr2K4dS