What Prison Professors does

Prison Professors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 85-2603315) founded by Michael Santos, who spent 26 years in federal prison before establishing the entity to provide free education and reentry resources to justice-impacted individuals. The organization operates a cloud-based, self-serve educational platform combining free lessons, master classes, books, podcasts, videos, a blog, and live "Ask Me Anything" sessions, alongside practical tools including an AI conversational assistant, a Federal Sentence Calculator, and a Bureau of Prisons facility directory. A core architectural component is the Profile system, which lets participants track lessons completed, words written, and points earned over time to produce a documented record of preparation that participants can present to judges, parole boards, and employers.

The platform is delivered directly via web access to family members, defense attorneys, and the general public, and through Edovo tablets installed inside prisons to reach incarcerated users without internet access. Business model mechanics are explicitly non-revenue: all resources are 100% free, and the organization is funded entirely by tax-deductible donations to the nonprofit. Customer segmentation is horizontal across four primary personas (defendants/participants, families/friends, defense attorneys, and corrections professionals), with go-to-market centered on content marketing, organic search, community word-of-mouth, and Edovo-mediated in-facility distribution. The organization reports 4,907+ active profile builders across multiple state and federal facilities and does not disclose donations, expense run-rate, or financial scale.

Recent strategic activity centers on product expansion, including a 2026 launch of a Web3/blockchain education course for federal prisoners and a 2026 launch of a Free Federal Sentence Calculator, alongside continued content publishing and formalized board-level reporting (2025 Board Report, Financial Transparency page). Recent blog coverage (July 2026) indicates founder health issues and reflections on organizational barriers, signaling operational risk concentrated in the founder.

Name

Prison Professors

Legal name

Prison Professors

Website

https://prisonprofessors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Prison Professors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free prison education, reentry resources, and a profile-tracking system for justice-impacted individuals, their families, defense attorneys, and corrections professionals, distributing content via web and Edovo tablets in prisons.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prison Education and Reentry Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Corrections & Reentry Adult Literacy (Justice-Involved Learners) (EDAAAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Correctional Education Programs (Community College-Delivered) (EDAHADAN), Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units) (EDAFACAA), Integrated Tutoring + Learning Content Platforms (Curriculum + Tutors) (EDANAGAL), Adult Corrections (Prisons & Jails) (BPAIAFAD)

Keywords

• Prison education
• Reentry resources
• Criminal justice self-advocacy
• Corrections education
• Incarcerated learner programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Funding: Prison Professors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates entirely on donations. The organization explicitly states it is a non-revenue generating entity, with all donations funding free education programs. EIN: 85-2603315.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Prison Professors operates a free online educational platform that delivers lessons, master classes, AI-assisted coaching, books, podcasts, videos, and an Ask Me Anything service to justice-impacted individuals. It supplements instruction with standalone tools — a Federal Sentence Calculator, a BOP Facility Directory, and a Profile system that records completed lessons, words written, and points earned to document each participant's transformation for judges, parole boards, and employers.

Product overview

Prison Professors is a nonprofit platform offering free educational resources and documentation tools for justice-impacted individuals. The core offering is a unified platform combining learning content (Free Lessons, Master Classes, Books, Podcasts, Videos, Blog, Ask Me Anything) with practical tools (AI Assistant, Sentence Calculator, BOP Facility Directory) and a Profile documentation system. The Profile system allows users to track their progress through lessons completed, words written, and points earned, creating a documented record to demonstrate transformation to judges, parole boards, and employers. The PSAP (Prison Professors Self-Advocacy Program) course provides the structured curriculum, while the AI Assistant offers conversational guidance. All resources are provided free of charge as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AI Assistant Interactive AI-powered coaching assistant available on the Prison Professors platform to support learners with questions and guide self-directed study.
• Free Lessons Free structured educational lessons forming the core curriculum of the platform, designed for self-advocacy and reentry preparation for justice-impacted individuals.
• Master Classes Advanced educational sessions hosted on the Prison Professors platform, providing deeper instruction on self-advocacy, reentry, and personal development for justice-impacted learners.
• Ask Me Anything (AMA) Ask Me Anything service where learners can submit questions to engage with content experts and the Prison Professors community for personalized guidance.
• Federal Sentence Calculator Standalone tool on the Prison Professors platform that allows users to compute federal sentencing scenarios, supporting self-advocacy, mitigation, and family decision-making.
• BOP Facility Directory Directory tool of federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities accessible on the platform, helping incarcerated individuals and their families identify and locate facilities.
• Profiles (Transformation Record) Profile system that records each user's completed lessons, words written, and points earned, producing a documented transformation record usable in court, parole, and employer contexts.
• Prison Self-Advocacy Profile (PSAP) Course Comprehensive Prison Self-Advocacy Profile (PSAP) course guiding participants through structured learning and the creation of a documented personal transformation record usable in legal and reentry contexts.
• Books (Library) Library of book summaries available on the Prison Professors platform as part of the free educational content library for justice-impacted learners.
• Podcasts Podcast series available on the Prison Professors platform providing audio educational content for justice-impacted individuals and the broader community.
• Videos Video library and video reels on the Prison Professors platform providing visual educational content for justice-impacted learners.
• Web3 Course Web3 Course announced for the Prison Professors platform, expanding the educational library into Web3 topics for justice-impacted learners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Individuals who complete the program demonstrate documented transformation through lessons completed, words written, and points earned on their profiles
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EdovocoreTechnology or IntegrationEdovo is a technology company that provides tablets to incarcerated individuals, enabling Prison Professors to reach people in prison who don't have internet access. Prison Professors courses are available through the Edovo platform, expanding distribution to a captive audience within correctional facilities.
• Release Strategy ProminorOthersA sponsor's website mentioned for individuals who want to interact with humans or participate in one-on-one strategy sessions. This appears to be a related entity for those seeking more personalized support beyond the free resources.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Root & Rebound: Root & Rebound provides legal reentry support, resources, and advocacy for people returning home from incarceration. It overlaps with Prison Professors' family and defendant segments through direct-service reentry resources.
• Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison: Hudson Link funds and delivers college-level higher education programs inside New York State prisons. It targets the same justice-impacted population with structured curricula designed to reduce recidivism and improve reentry outcomes.
• Center for Employment Opportunities: CEO provides immediate employment services and reentry support to people returning home from incarceration. It targets justice-impacted individuals at the post-release stage with measurable workforce outcomes, paralleling Prison Professors' reentry preparation focus.
• Defy Ventures: Defy Ventures runs entrepreneurship-based programs, mentorship, and reentry support for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. It serves a heavily overlapping customer base and competes for philanthropic dollars and institutional partnerships in the reentry space.
• Edovo: Edovo provides tablets and educational content to incarcerated individuals in U.S. prisons and is Prison Professors' core distribution partner. It serves the same end customers through a similar free-to-incarcerated-users model on tablets inside facilities.
• The Last Mile: The Last Mile delivers technology and entrepreneurship education to incarcerated individuals inside prisons, with a focus on coding, workforce readiness, and reentry. It directly competes for prison education budgets and inmate attention with structured, post-release pathways.
• The Petey Greene Program: The Petey Greene Program coordinates volunteer tutors and educational support for incarcerated adults in prisons and jails. It shares Prison Professors' mission of providing free, accessible education to incarcerated learners, though its delivery is volunteer-led rather than digital.

Broad incumbents

• The Fortune Society: The Fortune Society is a long-established reentry and justice advocacy organization providing education, housing, employment, and advocacy services. It is a broad incumbent in the same space as Prison Professors, with overlapping beneficiaries (incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people) but a much wider service portfolio.
• Benedictine University, Prison Education Program: Benedictine University operates one of several traditional higher-education-in-prison programs delivering accredited college coursework inside correctional facilities. It is a broad incumbent in correctional education, competing for the same donor and policy attention as Prison Professors' free content model.

Regional players

• College & Community Fellowship: College & Community Fellowship supports college-in-prison programs and currently and formerly incarcerated women pursuing higher education. It overlaps with Prison Professors' mission around higher education in prison but operates regionally and with a narrower beneficiary focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prisonprofessors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Prison Professors