Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative

What Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative does

Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) is a nonprofit initiative founded in 2016 and housed within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., that addresses mass incarceration through a portfolio of prison education, reentry support, and wrongful conviction advocacy programs. Its core offerings include the Prison Scholars Program (credit-bearing Georgetown courses at the D.C. Jail, launched 2018), the Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree program at Maryland's Patuxent Institution (inaugural cohort of 25 students in February 2022), the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program (a 20-week intensive certificate with paid law firm fellowships, three cohorts producing 35 graduates), the Pivot Program (nine-month business and entrepreneurship certificate for returning citizens), and Making an Exoneree (an undergraduate reinvestigation course credited with 13+ wrongful conviction releases). The inside-outside classroom model pairs incarcerated students with Georgetown undergraduates, and programs are delivered free of charge to participants.

PJI does not operate a technology platform; its core technology is described as not applicable, and value creation is delivered through in-person instruction, institutional partnerships, and human advocacy rather than software products. Distribution is channel-partner-driven: PJI relies on formal agreements with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the D.C. Department of Corrections, MORCA, and D.C. DOES for enrollment access, and on law firms (Kirkland & Ellis, WilmerHale, Covington & Burling, Outten & Golden, Relman Colfax, D.C. Attorney General's Office, Debevoise & Plimpton) for paralegal placement.

PJI is funded through a mix of foundation grants (notably a $1 million three-year Andrew W. Mellon Foundation award), federal grants (a $495,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant for Making an Exoneree), D.C. government grants (over $737,000 from the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants via American Rescue Plan Act funds), private donations (including alumnus Damien Dwin), and federal Pell Grants enabled by Georgetown's Second Chance Pell Experimental Site designation. The organization has 27 employees and a single headquarters at 509 7th Street NW, Washington, D.C.

Name

Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative

Legal name

Georgetown University Prisons and Justice Initiative

Website

https://prisonsandjustice.georgetown.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Georgetown University's Prisons and Justice Initiative delivers prison education, reentry support, and wrongful conviction advocacy programs for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals in D.C., Maryland, and beyond, free of charge to participants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prison Education and Reentry Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Reentry, Rehabilitation & Reintegration Programs (Education, Vocational, Case Management) (BPAKANAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE)

Keywords

• Prison education programs
• Higher education in prison
• Reentry support services
• Paralegal certificate training
• Wrongful conviction advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: Funded by grants from foundations including a $1 million three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the bachelor's degree program expansion
2. Private Donations: Supported by private donors including Georgetown alumnus Damien Dwin
3. Federal Financial Aid: Georgetown is a Second Chance Pell Experimental Site allowing qualified students to access federal Pell grants
4. Government Grants: D.C. Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants (OVSJG) provided over $737,000 in grant funding for emergency assistance to returning citizens through 2022-2023 grants

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative delivers higher education, reentry, and wrongful conviction advocacy programs. Its core offerings include credit-bearing Georgetown college courses and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree for incarcerated students, a paralegal certificate and a business/entrepreneurship certificate for returning citizens, and an undergraduate course that reinvestigates likely wrongful convictions. All services are provided free of charge to participants through partnerships with D.C. and Maryland correctional agencies and local government offices.

Product overview

Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative operates as a portfolio of interconnected educational and reentry programs rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include: the Prison Scholars Program providing credit-bearing Georgetown courses at the D.C. Jail; the Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree program at Maryland's Patuxent Institution for incarcerated students to earn a full Georgetown bachelor's degree; the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program offering paralegal certificates to returning citizens; the Pivot Program providing entrepreneurship and business training for reentry; and Making an Exoneree, an undergraduate course that investigates wrongful convictions. These programs work together to address mass incarceration through education at all stages—from incarceration through release and reintegration into society.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prison Scholars Program: A program offering credit-bearing Georgetown University courses for incarcerated students at the D.C. Jail and the Patuxent Institution in Maryland.
• Making an Exoneree
• MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program
• Pivot Program

Products and services

• Prison Scholars Program A program offering credit-bearing Georgetown University courses to incarcerated students at the D.C. Jail, providing educational opportunities including philosophy, literature, biology, personal finance, and theology courses, with an 'inside-outside' model that brings together incarcerated and non-incarcerated Georgetown undergraduates.
• Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BLA) Program A 120-credit interdisciplinary bachelor's degree program offered through Georgetown College at the Patuxent Institution in Maryland, allowing incarcerated students to earn a Georgetown degree with majors in cultural humanities, interdisciplinary social science, or global intellectual history over approximately five years.
• MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program A 20-week intensive paralegal certificate program for returning citizens, offered through Georgetown Law Center in partnership with the D.C. Mayor's Office on Returning Citizen Affairs and the D.C. Department of Employment Services. Participants complete coursework in legal research, contracts, litigation, and ethics, receive stipends while attending full-time, and are placed in one-year paid fellowships at law firms or government agencies.
• Pivot Program A reentry program for returning citizens offering a nine-month intensive curriculum focused on business and entrepreneurship, including classroom instruction, hands-on internship experience, and annual pitch competitions where fellows present business ventures for seed funding.
• Making an Exoneree A Georgetown undergraduate course in which students reinvestigate likely wrongful conviction cases, create documentaries, and advocate for release or exoneration. The program has contributed to 13+ releases since its creation, working with exonerees including John Kinsel, Eric Riddick, Valentino Dixon, and Keith Washington.
• Reentry Programs Comprehensive support services for returning citizens including housing assistance, employment support, emergency funding grants, and career development delivered through partnerships with organizations such as the D.C. Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13 wrongfully convicted individuals released through Making an Exoneree program
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• D.C. Mayor's Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2021MORCA serves as D.C.'s coordinating agency on issues related to returning citizens, connecting formerly incarcerated residents with resources, housing, and education opportunities. Partnership delivers the MORCA-Georgetown Paralegal Program to returning citizens seeking legal careers.
• D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2021DOES connects job seekers with resources and opportunities. The Division of State Initiatives works with government, nonprofit, and private sector partners for specialized services for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated residents. Partners on the Paralegal Program to provide employment connections.
• Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2021Partnership to deliver Georgetown's Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree program at Patuxent Institution in Jessup, MD. DPSCS oversees transfer of selected students from across Maryland's state prison system (about 18,000 people) to participate in the program. The institution's mission includes providing specialized treatment services to both men and women.
• Georgetown College of Arts & SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly administers the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BLA) degree program with PJI. The 120-credit interdisciplinary program is offered through Georgetown College and modeled after undergraduate degree offerings on the main campus.
• Georgetown University School of Continuing StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides the academic coursework for the Paralegal Studies certificate program. SCS has offered paralegal studies certificate program for over 30 years. Dean Kelly Otter oversees the partnership.
• Law Firm Employers (Kirkland & Ellis, WilmerHale, Covington & Burling, Outten & Golden, Relman Colfax, D.C. Attorney General's Office)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLaw firms and government agencies that hire Paralegal Program graduates for one-year fellowships and permanent positions. These employers gain qualified, motivated talent while providing career pathways for returning citizens.
• The Holloway Project (Debevoise & Plimpton LLP)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by John Gleeson, former federal court judge and Debevoise litigation partner, The Holloway Project advocates for incarcerated individuals against unjust mandatory stacked sentences. Has helped reduce more than 1,100 years of prison sentences for 34 incarcerated individuals.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Petey Greene Program: The Petey Greene Program recruits, trains, and supports volunteer tutors to deliver individualized educational support inside prisons and juvenile detention facilities. It is a direct peer in prison education programming, though PJI delivers credit-bearing university coursework while Petey Greene focuses on tutoring.
• Bard Prison Initiative: Bard Prison Initiative is the most established university-affiliated prison education program in the U.S., offering college credit and degree pathways to incarcerated individuals across New York State prisons. It is the closest functional analog to PJI's combination of in-prison credit-bearing coursework and full bachelor's degree programs (BLA).
• Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison: Hudson Link provides higher education and reentry support to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals in New York State, including college credit courses, degrees, and post-release support. Its integrated education-plus-reentry model closely mirrors PJI's portfolio approach.
• Mount Tamalpais College: Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project) is an accredited college-in-prison serving students across California state prisons with associate and bachelor's pathways. It is a direct peer in delivering credit-bearing, degree-granting higher education inside correctional facilities.
• University of Michigan Prison Education Initiative: UMich's Prison Education Initiative delivers credit-bearing undergraduate coursework and degree support to incarcerated students in Michigan prisons. It is a direct university-based peer comparable to PJI's Prison Scholars Program and BLA approach.
• Cornell Prison Education Program: Cornell's program is a university-affiliated initiative delivering credit-bearing college courses and degree pathways to incarcerated students across New York State prisons. It is comparable to PJI in leveraging a private research university's brand and faculty to deliver higher education in correctional settings.
• Wesleyan Center for Prison Education: The Wesleyan CPE is a university-based liberal arts program delivering credit-bearing coursework and degree pathways to incarcerated students in Connecticut, with strong institutional sponsorship from Wesleyan University. Comparable in structure to PJI's Prison Scholars Program and BLA model.

Broad incumbents

• Fortune Society: Fortune Society is a New York-based nonprofit providing comprehensive reentry services including education, workforce development, housing, and advocacy for people with justice involvement. It is a broad incumbent peer to PJI's Pivot Program and reentry support portfolio, operating at greater scale across multiple service lines.
• Innocence Project: The Innocence Project is the largest U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and legal advocacy. It is a broad incumbent peer to PJI's Making an Exoneree wrongful conviction work, but operates at much greater national scale with a dedicated legal clinic model.
• Center for Employment Opportunities: CEO is a national nonprofit providing immediate employment, transitional jobs, and career services to people with recent criminal convictions. It is a broad incumbent peer to PJI's reentry and workforce components, with established employer partnerships at national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GeorgetownPJI
• Facebookfacebook.com/GeorgetownUniversityPJI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/georgetown-prisons-and-justice-initiative
• Instagraminstagram.com/georgetownpji

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative