Transforming Social Welfare Through Tech: Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins’ Vision for a More Human-Centered System

From Prince's sound checks to transforming how millions access government benefits, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is building technology that serves the underserved.

Key Takeaways

• Promise uses existing government data to automatically apply for benefits on behalf of eligible recipients, eliminating redundant paperwork
• The company achieves 90% repayment rates by designing payment systems around people's actual financial realities rather than software convenience
• States like California and New York struggle with welfare modernization due to entrenched infrastructure and institutional resistance to change
• Criminal justice reform requires addressing the connection between poverty and incarceration, particularly around suspended driver's licenses
• Building inclusive technology demands assuming you know nothing about your users' experiences and designing systems for dignity rather than efficiency
• AI development must prioritize making underrepresented communities early adopters rather than eventual beneficiaries of trickle-down innovation
• Government represents a trillion-dollar market with minimal competition, offering unprecedented opportunities for mission-driven entrepreneurs
• The most effective social programs feel enjoyable and dignified rather than punitive and bureaucratic

Breaking Down Bureaucratic Barriers with Data Intelligence

• Promise operates on the principle that people shouldn't have to repeatedly prove their poverty once they've already been certified for one government program like SNAP food assistance. The federal government allows this cross-program certification, yet most states still require separate applications for each benefit program.
• The company aggregates data from multiple sources - state agencies, utility companies, and federal databases - to automatically fill out benefit applications on people's behalf. This approach transforms the user experience from hours of paperwork to simple eligibility confirmation.
• States like Virginia have embraced Promise's model, providing direct data feeds that enable the company to identify eligible recipients and process their water assistance applications without requiring income verification or utility bill copies. This streamlined approach eliminates the traditional barriers that prevent people from accessing available aid.
• Traditional welfare systems force applicants through multiple redundant processes - walking into offices, providing the same documentation repeatedly, and navigating different requirements for similar programs. Promise's technology recognizes that government already possesses most necessary verification data and uses it to eliminate unnecessary friction.

The California and New York Infrastructure Challenge

• California and New York present unique obstacles for welfare modernization because decades of existing infrastructure create institutional inertia. These states have built complex systems around in-person verification, paper documentation, and multiple organizational touchpoints that resist technological streamlining.
• Florida's recent partnership with Promise demonstrates how newer programs or states with less entrenched systems can more readily adopt data-driven approaches. Without decades of established processes, these jurisdictions show greater openness to innovative solutions that prioritize speed and efficiency.
• The resistance to change often stems from concerns about privatization, labor movement considerations, and institutional interests that benefit from current systems. Ellis-Lamkins acknowledges these aren't necessarily technical problems but political and organizational ones requiring different solutions.
• Despite California being Promise's home state, the company has no contract there, highlighting how proximity doesn't guarantee adoption when systemic barriers exist. The challenge lies not in technological capability but in organizational willingness to transform established processes.

Criminal Justice Reform Through Financial Access

• Promise's entry into criminal justice reform emerged from recognizing that poverty drives much incarceration. Data analysis revealed that people most likely to fail court appearances had suspended driver's licenses, typically resulting from unpaid parking or traffic tickets rather than serious criminal behavior.
• The cycle of poverty and incarceration becomes self-reinforcing when driver's license suspension eliminates employment opportunities, making it impossible to pay fines, which leads to further legal complications. Promise's approach addresses these financial barriers before they cascade into larger criminal justice problems.
• Bail reform represents an opportunity to distinguish between actual public safety concerns and poverty-based detention. Most people detained pre-trial simply cannot afford bail amounts, not because they pose genuine flight risks or safety threats to their communities.
• The criminal justice system excels at incarcerating black and brown people but lacks innovation in serving these communities constructively. Ellis-Lamkins argues this reflects both the demographic makeup of technology developers and the market incentives that drive entrepreneurial attention toward problems affecting affluent populations.

Designing Technology with Authentic Empathy

• Building for communities you don't personally represent requires abandoning assumptions about user behavior and financial realities. Ellis-Lamkins describes an engineer's confusion about why someone's paycheck would disappear on the same day they receive it, illustrating how class differences shape technological design decisions.
• Promise achieves 90% payment plan success rates because the company designs around actual user needs rather than software optimization. When an engineer suggested scheduling automatic payments for maximum system efficiency, Ellis-Lamkins redirected the conversation toward when people actually have money available rather than when code runs most smoothly.
• The company requires team members to personally call and apologize when mistakes affect users, creating direct emotional connection between developers and the real-world impact of their decisions. This practice ensures engineers understand the human consequences of technical errors rather than treating users as abstract data points.
• Traditional technology development often dismisses individual user experiences as "anecdotal" rather than recognizing patterns within personal stories. Ellis-Lamkins advocates for treating user narratives as valuable data sources that reveal system design flaws invisible to purely quantitative analysis.

Artificial Intelligence for Inclusive Innovation

• Promise approaches AI as an internal tool for document processing and system optimization rather than public-facing technology, recognizing that current language models aren't ready for direct user interaction with vulnerable populations. The company uses AI for parsing government documents and processing information rather than customer service or decision-making.
• The biggest AI opportunity lies in making traditionally underserved communities early adopters rather than eventual beneficiaries. Ellis-Lamkins challenges the typical tech adoption model where innovations start with affluent users and slowly expand to broader populations through market forces.
• AI development must account for cultural and linguistic nuances beyond simple translation software. Promise avoids automated translation because direct conversion often misses cultural context and vernacular differences that significantly impact user experience and comprehension.
• Future AI systems could serve as advocates for people navigating healthcare, legal, and social service systems where structural bias creates additional barriers. Ellis-Lamkins envisions AI helping people make cases for themselves in situations where systemic discrimination affects treatment and access to resources.

Building Sustainable Impact Through Market Success

• Promise's business model demonstrates that serving low-income communities can generate substantial revenue without exploiting users through high interest rates or predatory lending practices. The company's approach challenges the assumption that helping poor people requires sacrificing profitability or relying on charitable funding.
• Government contracts represent a trillion-dollar market with limited competition and innovation, offering unprecedented opportunities for mission-driven entrepreneurs. Promise often wins sole-source contracts because few companies focus on developing solutions for public sector social services.
• Ellis-Lamkins emphasizes that her greatest contribution involves proving that companies can achieve traditional capitalist success while maintaining dignity and respect for users. This demonstration opens pathways for other entrepreneurs who want to build profitable businesses that serve social good.
• The company's success metrics include both financial performance and user satisfaction, measured through thank-you notes and positive feedback that traditional tech companies rarely receive. This combination of profit and purpose creates a sustainable model for scaling social impact through market mechanisms.

Technology's greatest opportunity lies in redesigning systems that work for everyone rather than just optimizing existing processes for current beneficiaries. Promise proves that innovation in service of liberation can achieve both social impact and financial success when entrepreneurs commit to understanding and serving communities traditionally excluded from technological advancement.