More than one-third of working-age adults in the US have a criminal record, creating barriers to housing, education and employment — even when charges never led to a conviction. Expunging those records can be complex and expensive without access to pro-bono justice programs.
Rasa is looking to scale an affordable model that has helped more than 26,000 individuals find out what’s on their record and determine their eligibility for clearance. Among those individuals, 5,000 cases have been expunged by Rasa’s lawyers since 2022.
“Rasa sits at the intersection of education, workforce access and justice,” said Amy Nelson of Rethink Education, the lead investor in Rasa’s $5 million seed round. “By combining technology with legal expertise, the team is building scalable infrastructure that removes barriers to education, employment and opportunity.”
Decarceration and reentry
Rasa also connects users to education, health insurance and fair-chance hiring opportunities. With clean records, these individuals are more likely to secure job interviews and higher wages.
“We believe technology can dramatically expand access to justice and new opportunity,” said Noella Sudbury, a former public defender and founder of Rasa. With seed funding, the Utah-based company is looking to “scale our impact across America,” she said, starting in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The place-based Richard King Mellon Foundation invested to support Rasa’s focus on Pittsburgh. Other backers include Social Finance and Halogen Ventures, which invests in women-led startups.
