If you have ever wondered how one person can use simple ideas, smart data, and a lot of heart to change something as big as the US justice system, then you will enjoy learning about Clementine Jacoby. She is a software engineer, a criminal justice reform activist, a TED Fellow, and the CEO and co-founder of Recidiviz, a nonprofit that is helping the country rethink how prisons, probation, and parole work. Her work shows how clear data, open tools, and teamwork can bring hope to people who are stuck in a system that is slow, confusing, and full of old rules.
What makes Clementine Jacoby different is that she talks about very complex problems in a simple way. She explains that hundreds of thousands of people in the United States finish all their requirements for release but still sit in prison because old databases don’t share information. The justice system uses data systems from the 1980s that do not talk to each other. Because of this, many people remain stuck even when they should be free. Clementine believes this is not only unfair but also unsafe, costly, and harmful for families and communities. Her mission is to fix this problem using clean, real-time data that anyone in the justice system can understand.
The Early Story That Shaped Her Mission
To understand why Clementine Jacoby cares so deeply about criminal justice reform, you have to go back to her childhood. When she was only five, her uncle was sent to prison for a nonviolent crime. He was just 19 years old. When he finished his sentence almost ten years later, he struggled to find a job, a home, and a fresh start. Watching this shaped her beliefs about fairness and opened her eyes to how difficult it is to stay out of prison in the United States.
Years later, while studying Symbolic Systems at Stanford University, she found new ways to explore how people think, behave, and respond to systems. She became interested in behavioral change at scale and how smart, simple technology can help people make better choices. One of her most life-changing experiences came when she spent a year in Brazil teaching acrobatics in a gang diversion program. She worked with young people who were trying to escape crime, and she saw how important it is to give people a real chance.
These experiences guided her toward the idea that technology and social change can work together.
From Google to Recidiviz: A New Kind of Tech Career
Before building Recidiviz, Clementine Jacoby worked at Google as a Product Manager. She worked on Google Maps, Android, and even augmented reality games. Google trusted generalists, encouraged big ideas, and taught her how to build tools used by millions of people. But while she enjoyed her work, her heart was always focused on the justice system and the question: How can we fix mass incarceration in a simple and humane way?
In 2017, she started working on a new idea during nights and weekends with a small group of volunteer engineers from companies like Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, and Google. The goal was simple: create an open-source platform that collects, cleans, and shares criminal justice data. This tool would help states see who is eligible for release, who needs help, and how officers can support people instead of punishing them.
By 2018, she officially founded Recidiviz, and the mission became clear — build the technical foundation for a self-aware, self-correcting justice system.
How Recidiviz Works and Why It Matters
To understand the true impact of Clementine Jacoby, you need to see how Recidiviz actually helps real people. The idea behind the platform is simple: bring all the scattered prison, probation, and parole data into one clear place. Many states still use old databases that cannot talk to each other. Because of this, officers may not know who has finished their programs, who needs support, or who is eligible for early release. Recidiviz fixes this problem by showing everything in one easy dashboard.
This dashboard gives officers, leaders, and policymakers a full picture. For example, it can show which people have completed most of their sentence, or who has done well in treatment programs. It can also show which parolees are having trouble keeping a job, so officers can offer help instead of punishment. This approach reduces mistakes and helps people succeed. It also saves money and keeps communities safer. Clementine Jacoby often says that smart data can bring thousands of people home without risking public safety — and she is right.
Real Change Across the United States
The results of Recidiviz are already huge. The platform is used by more than 30 states, and many of them have seen big improvements. One of the most powerful examples happened in North Dakota. When COVID-19 spread through prisons, the state used Recidiviz to find out exactly who could be safely released. In just one month, the prison population dropped by 25%. This was not because of guesswork — this was because of clean, real-time data.
Across the country, Recidiviz has helped identify over 40,000 people who were eligible for early release. Many of them had completed every requirement but were stuck because no one knew their file was ready. Thanks to Clementine Jacoby and her team, these people finally got a chance to go home.
Recidiviz has also received support from different sides of politics. Groups like the ACLU, REFORM Alliance, Right on Crime, the Charles Koch Institute, and Ford Foundation have all shown interest. This rare bipartisan support shows how important and balanced the work is. It is not about being right or left — it is about helping people and fixing a broken system.
The People Behind Recidiviz
The success of Recidiviz comes from a strong team of engineers, designers, data scientists, and partnership leaders. Names like Sam Zepeda, Carolyn Wu, Andrew Warren, Netta Wang, Maggie Taylor, Paco Poler, Justine Kunz, and many more make up the heart of the organization. These people work across fields like software engineering, design, data analysis, operations, and communications. They support states every day and help make sure the platform stays simple, helpful, and human-centered.
This large and diverse team shows how one idea from Clementine Jacoby turned into a national movement. People from Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, and Google even left their jobs to join her mission because they wanted to work on something that truly matters.
Facing Critics and Staying Transparent
Even with all this impact, there are people who worry about how justice data is used. Some activists believe that improving data systems might make prisons run better without fixing deeper problems. Others worry about bias in old data, especially when past arrests were unfair. They ask, “If the data is biased, can the results be fair?”
Clementine Jacoby understands these fears. She explains that Recidiviz does not make new rules or punishments. It only shows the information that states already have — but in a clear and fair way. She and her team often ride along with parole officers, watch how they enter data, and learn what is difficult in their daily work. They listen to communities and try to remove confusion so people can feel trust, not fear, when it comes to technology.
Her goal is not to build more punishment. Her goal is to build tools that help people succeed.
Why Clementine Jacoby’s Work Feels Different
What makes Clementine Jacoby stand out is how she talks about people first. She believes in second chances and real support. Jacoby believes that a smart system should reward success, not hide it in messy files. She believes that if someone is doing well, they should be allowed to move forward with their life.
Her background — from Stanford to Google to teaching acrobatics in Brazil — gives her a rare mix of skills. She understands people. She understands technology. And she understands how powerful simple tools can be when placed in the right hands.
Recidiviz is not just software. It is a chance for the justice system to finally look at itself, learn from its mistakes, and grow into something better.
The Story Moving Forward
As Recidiviz grows, so does its impact. The platform continues to expand to more states. New team members join every month. Job posts for product managers, data analysts, state partnership managers, and engineers show that this movement is just getting started. And with Clementine Jacoby leading the way, the vision remains clear: build a fair, safe, and human justice system powered by clean, honest data.
Every day, more people gain freedom because someone finally saw their progress. And every day, more leaders understand that data can save lives when used with care.
