AMERICAN PRISON DATA SYSTEMS, PBC is a Certified B Corporation leading the technology revolution in corrections.
Our mission is to provide correction professionals and incarcerated learners with the digital tools they need to succeed.
APDS technology services :
APDS began deployment in September 2014 at Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility to provide tablets to all juvenile girls at their maximum security facility. After a highly successful initial deployment in providing safe and effective educational and rehabilitative programming, as well as behavior reward tools, the state extended the program.
CLICK HERE to see how APDS tablets reduced violence and improved reading scores by 4+ grade levels!
Case Study Testimonial
APDS tablets offer a full range of academic and rehabilitative resources specifically targeted to this at-risk population. Successes include calmer facility, less violence, academic gains in reading and earlier intervention in mental health cases.
APDS coaching and content led to a remarkably high jump in literacy levels amongst female learners. Reading scores (as measured by pre- and post-WRAT testing) for young women in the facility improved (on average) by more than 4 grade levels throughout 2+ years of the APDS program.
“Our use of APDS tablets has allowed us to provide access to enhanced learning opportunities, increased access to library books, increased communication among students/trusted adults, and opportunities to reward students for successful outcomes. We are thrilled with the partnership we have established with APDS.”
Dr. Susan Lockwood, Director of Juvenile Education, Indiana Department of Corrections
Since October 2014, APDS began a partnership with 5 Keys Charter Schools to bring secure tablets to several Bay-Area correctional facilities. The program is focused on education, rehabilitation, reentry services, and has garnered considerable and favorable media attention.
Case StudyThe program centers around the Five Keys adult high school curriculum along with an array of additional resources including an online literacy program, job training, mental health literature, a substance abuse program, an online legal library, reentry materials and a number of APDS resources including TED Talks, National Corrections Library, Secure Content Locker and the Learning Management System. Facility staff, teachers and inmates view the tablets, APDS support and training, as indispensable educational and rehabilitation tools.
The NYC DOC program for young adults began in February 2016 at the Robert N. Davoren Center (RNDC) and the Rose M. Singer Center (RMSC). Tablets were deployed during the pilot program. Initial response from staff, inmates and COs has been overwhelmingly positive.
APDS began a partnership with the NYC DOE in June 2015 to bring its technology to the work District 79 does with juveniles on Rikers Island. The program began with extensive teacher training on utilizing APDS tablets to deliver educational programming. The program rapidly expanded to put technology into the hands of juveniles on Rikers Island to support individualized instruction and ongoing education at the East River Academy.
APDS partners with best-in-class content developers to provide a range of programs and services that include:
APDS partners with the most trusted and secure technology platforms to deliver a product with:
APDS works with companies that make its services accessible to Correction Departments to:
APDS showcases nonprofits that support criminal justice reform. The following organizations work to:
Chris is an entrepreneur with a passionate belief in the power of education to change lives for the better. Chris has more than 25 years of experience leading start-up, turnaround, and mature educational publishing businesses to substantial revenue growth and profitability. He co-founded and was CEO of the Princeton Review in Japan, and has worked since in senior business development and publishing roles at Scholastic, Kids Discover, Triumph Learning, Troll Communications, and MetaMetrics.
Arti joined APDS in 2013 to direct the company’s sales and marketing activities. She is a business development expert with over 20 years of experience creating and selling marketing opportunities for such brands as The New York Times, Time Warner, the American Museum of Natural History, and The Princeton Review; and managing large-company relationships for the Partnership for New York City. Drawn by the opportunity to help change lives for the better, her role has been to listen to the needs of corrections professionals, and provide them with customized technology solutions. Arti has an MBA from Northwestern/Kellogg and a B.A. from Kenyon College.
Peter first became involved with APDS as a key investor and advisor in 2013. He recently joined the APDS team to manage investor relations and corporate strategy. With more than two decades experience as a private equity investment professional, Peter brings to APDS a diverse background in financial management and growth capital, having personally invested in dozens of companies across a wide range of industries and economic cycles in both North America and Europe. Peter has served as a director and occasional Chairman and interim Chief Executive for over a dozen private and public companies. He is a graduate of Harvard University and Dartmouth Business School.
Mott joined APDS in 2018 as Chief Revenue Officer. Her background includes over 20 years in educational publishing delivering best in class solutions to nontraditional students. During her career, she has created Adult Education solutions for such brands as Steck-Vaughn, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Rigby. She joined APDS to further the company’s mission of providing programing solutions designed to change lives for the better. She holds a Masters in Education Online Innovation and Design from University of Alaska, Fairbanks and a BS Education from Appalachian State University.
Lynn joined APDS December 2017 as Senior Account Executive. She will be partnering with faculties and institutions across the United States building solutions to meet their needs. Lynn has over 35+ years of experience in the curriculum space and has built long term relationships with major institutions, districts, and organizations. She has a Bachelor of Science-Education from The Ohio State University and is certified in English as a Second Language through The University of Houston. She has a passion for education on all levels.
Harris came to APDS to in January 2017. He has spent most of his professional career scaling early-stage to mid-sized education companies (for-profit and not-for-profit). As Chief Operating Officer at American Prison Data Systems, PBC, Harris oversees the product development, technology, implementation, and support for the company’s software and services which provide education, job training, rehabilitation, and re-entry support for incarcerated learners. Formerly, Harris was the Chief Operating Officer at Achievement First – a high-performing network of public charter schools in New York City, Connecticut, and Rhode Island – where he was on the executive team for 10+ years and played a leadership role in growing Achievement First’s network of schools from 2500 students to well over 14,000 students. Harris went to Yale as an undergraduate and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Erick came to APDS in September 2013 to lead the Boston office, overseeing product development and advancing physical and digital platform security. Erick is responsible for guiding product direction to align with the APDS mission. He also manages key relationships with product-focused partners. Erick comes to his role at APDS from a multidisciplinary background, including product management, deploying custom, cost-effective technology platforms, and building and directing an AmeriCorps organization in Boston. Erick holds a B.A. from Brown University.
Dylan came to APDS in May 2014 to oversee the launch of the very first pilot deployments into secure facilities. Today, he works to optimize and scale the implementation process, serving APDS clients nationwide. Prior to joining the team, Dylan worked for 5-years in program design and operations for the United Nations and other development programs in post-conflict areas of Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Dylan holds a B.A. Spanish and Portuguese from Princeton University.
Terry joined APDS in March 2016 to manage partner relationships with Verizon and CDWG. Terry spent the last 21 years with Verizon Wireless in various positions, serving most recently as Vertical Account Manager for state and local government. In addition, Terry spent 6 years as Associate Director of Government Sales in the Washington DC and Baltimore Markets, and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Kevin came to APDS in July 2014 to manage the companies’ external web services. Previously, Kevin worked as a Product Manager, Quality Assurance Tester and a training and support technician for other ed-tech and social work start-ups in the greater New York City area. In addition, he has been a teaching assistant at General Assembly for their front-end web development classes. Kevin has a B.A. in English from Binghamton University and a Certificate in Web Development from General Assembly.
Lynette Gonzalez came to APDS in February 2016 after completing her degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a B.S. in Criminology and a minor in Dispute Resolution. She interned at Women in the Public Sector at John Jay College and Bronx Community Solutions at the Bronx Community Court House. Lynette is enthusiastic about using her skill set to create real change amongst the communities served by APDS.
Melanie joined APDS in April, 2016 as an Office Manager, helping to build and maintain efficient organizational structure. She has a global background in Project Management, and Film and Event Production. Prior to joining the team, Melanie lived in Germany for 13 years, becoming fluent in the language while working as a Script Supervisor and Assistant Director. She has a degree in Psychology and French Literature from Hunter College.
Camille joined APDS in April 2016 to help the company share its message of changing corrections for good on social media. She comes to her role at APDS from more than five years in online journalism and new media. Camille holds a B.A. in Communications from Elon University.
Jenna joined the marketing team at APDS in March 2016. She spent the previous three years working in nonprofit and international development as a media and marketing coordinator, grant writer, and all around fundraising guru. Jenna is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology. An active student leader and current community organizer, she hopes her diversity of experience and interests bring new dimension to APDS’ innovative solutions to inmate education and rehabilitation.
Rebecca joined APDS in November 2016 to serve as Creative Director, producing images and video of the APDS product. Prior to joining the team, she worked for more than five years as a freelance videographer, producer, director and film editor for various companies and organizations in the social justice field. Most recently, Rebecca was a technical director and video editor for the progressive online weekly interview series, The Laura Flanders Show. She holds a BFA from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and a MA in Media and Documentary Studies from The New School.
Shomari joined APDS as an intern in June of 2016 before being brought on as a longterm employee. He has spent time in a variety of positions spanning several fields including marketing, criminal justice, and technology. Shomari is a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and will graduate in 2019 with an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Information Security. He hopes to be an asset to the team and a positive influence on the world as he grows with APDS.
Nancy Umana-Melendez joined APDS as a Junior Support Associate in September of 2016, after interning for the NYC Department of Correction. She has also interned for U.S Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Nancy is a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and will graduate in May 2017 with Bachelors in Criminology and a minor in Psychology. She hopes to be an asset to the team and a positive influence in corrections.
Stephanie joined APDS in November 2016 as a Junior Support Associate to aide with support requests and on-site assistance. She is a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, graduating in May 2017 with a B.S. in Criminology and minors in both Sociology and Gender Studies. With her acquired skills in Criminology and Criminal Justice research, along with her managerial background in retail, she hopes to become part of a positive change in corrections and criminal justice.
Brooke joined APDS as an intern in June 2016 before becoming a full-time Support Associate and data analyst in August 2017. She works closely with our content partners to track program usage and performance data that demonstrate positive educational outcomes. She previously worked in the nonprofit sector, interning at the Robin Hood Foundation, whose mission is to end poverty in New York City; and Kids in Crisis, which provides refuge for children experiencing neglect or abuse. She graduated in May 2017 from Duke University with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Education.
Lucas began as a summer intern with APDS in 2014 and 2015, until joining the team as a full time Support Associate in June of 2017. His role has been to assist Operations with administrative tasks, deployment activities and ongoing customer support. Lucas will be graduating Kenyon College in the spring of 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a concentration in Law. Lucas has been able to see the company develop from the start and will remain to be a viable asset to his team.
Gregory joined APDS as a Junior Support Associate in December of 2016. He is a recent graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a Bachelors in Anthropology. He hopes to utilize the skills he obtained working as a Data Assistant for CUNY’s Central office to help drive APDS’ robust data management services.
