About Ours to Build
Ours to Build started with a question: if AI tools are genuinely helpful to justice-impacted individuals, and our research shows they are, why isn't anyone teaching them inside correctional facilities?
The Founder
Jacob Cohen
Jacob Cohen is a software engineer based in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated magna cum laude from Columbus State Community College and is currently interning at a computer vision startup while running his own tech consulting firm.
Since 2024, Jacob has been deeply involved in Columbus's reentry community — volunteering at events, connecting justice-impacted individuals to resources, and serving as website manager for the Central Ohio Restored Citizens' Collaborative (CORCC). He is an alumnus of Canary Impact's NextWave Leadership Program for emerging social change leaders.
What keeps him up at night is the knowledge that generative AI has the potential to change the lives of some of the most disenfranchised people in the world. Almost no one is doing anything about it inside correctional facilities. Ours to Build is his attempt to change that.
Our Mission
Why We Exist
There is no structured AI literacy program inside U.S. correctional facilities. Not one. Meanwhile, AI is reshaping nearly every industry those coming home will enter. Ours to Build exists to close that gap by training people with lived experience to lead, not by bringing in outside experts. The most credible voice in any room is the one that knows what it feels like to be in that room.
“I would work with you on this and your journey.”
The Model
Why Peer-Led
When someone who has been through the system stands in front of a room and says “this tool can help you rebuild your resume, navigate reentry, and prepare for what comes next,” it lands differently than when an outsider says the same words. Trust is built through shared experience. That’s the foundation of everything we do.
The Name
Our research revealed a striking contradiction: the people most impacted by the justice system find AI tools genuinely helpful, yet the majority do not believe those tools were designed with them in mind. That gap made one thing clear. Those closest to the problem cannot afford to sit passively while others shape the future on their behalf. They must be the builders. The name “Ours to Build” captures that conviction. This future will not be handed down. It will be constructed by the people who have the most at stake, and it belongs to all of us.