Tech Matters: Helplines Reimagined, with Dee Luo and Nick Hurlburt of Aselo

Date: December 17, 2025
Host: Jim Fruchterman
Guests: Dee Luo (Product Lead, Aselo), Nick Hurlburt (Executive Director, Aselo)
Theme: Exploring the Aselo platform, a purpose-built, open source solution transforming global helplines through tech for social good.

Episode Overview

This episode centers on Aselo, an open-source contact center platform designed specifically for nonprofit helplines. Host Jim Fruchterman interviews Dee Luo and Nick Hurlburt to unpack how Aselo bridges technology and social impact, modernizing crisis lines, empowering frontline support, and advancing children’s rights worldwide. The conversation weaves together stories of tech-for-good careers, product development, trust, data ethics, the promise and limits of AI, and key lessons for anyone working at the intersection of software and social change.

1. The Purpose and Mission of Aselo (00:42–06:08)

• Meeting a Unique Need:
  Nick Hurlburt explains that 95% of contact center platforms are built for sales or support, not for the nuanced needs of helplines (01:54)

  • “Helplines have a very different issue... Their goal is to provide counseling, to provide support, to provide resources. And that’s just a very different use case.” — Nick (02:21)

• Global, Purpose-Built Solution:
  Aselo was created in partnership with Child Helpline International to support helplines globally, recognizing that most need robust, similar core functions regardless of location.

Notable Features (03:30–06:08)

• User-Centric Interface:
  Dee Luo highlights that the main users—counselors and supervisors—are usually non-technical experts in human care, so Aselo is designed for simplicity and focus.

• Omni-Channel Support:
  Counselors can handle voice, text, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Facebook, and more—all from a single cloud-based interface (04:30–06:08).

  • “We support voice calls and texts and chat... But we started working with child helplines and they’re concerned about where children are and what children are using. They’re using platforms like Instagram... So counselors can take voice, text, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram... from the same interface.” — Dee (05:06)

• Modernizing for Youth:
  As helplines transition from telephone to text-based support, Aselo aims to meet young people on their terms.

2. Tech for Good Career Journeys (06:46–12:16)

• Nick’s Path:
  From a computer science background and Amazon (on the original recommendation engine team), Nick sought greater social impact, moved into international conflict relief, and circled back to tech-for-good via Tech Matters.

  • “I had this revelation that maybe there are actually ways that I can contribute, given the technology background and abilities that I have in a different way.” — Nick (07:56)

• Dee’s Path:
  Dee transitioned from SaaS product work at Yext to the nonprofit world, drawn by volunteer work with Crisis Text Line and discovering she could apply her product management skills in a mission-driven context.

  • “I had this idea that to work in nonprofit, I had to have experience with grant writing and maybe policy... then I saw Crisis Text Line... and was really floored by this intersection between tech and nonprofit.” — Dee (10:16)
  • Resources mentioned for entering tech for good: Idealist.org, Fast Forward.

3. Product Development, Open Source, & Data Ethics (12:16–17:41)

• Open Source Philosophy:
  Aselo's code is open to foster transparency and collective innovation across helplines worldwide (13:42).

  • “Any new development, everyone gets the benefit... It ends up being sort of a community project.” — Nick (14:17)

• Data as Empowerment:
  Standardized, secure, user-owned data enables helplines to analyze trends, report to governments/donors, and advocate for systems change while maintaining privacy.

• Moving Fast Globally:
  Aselo started in Africa and now serves both developed and developing countries—growth driven by a collaborative model.

4. AI: Cautious Innovation & User Trust (17:41–21:43)

• AI’s Role in Helplines:
  No, robots aren’t replacing counselors. Instead, AI assists with admin tasks like categorization and summarization, freeing up time for human support (17:41).

  • “As the date of this recording in 2025, it's not ready to fire your counseling staff and replace it with a robot, you know, chatbot.” — Jim (17:41)

• Ethical Safeguards:
  Aselo never uses sensitive data without explicit, opt-in agreements; all data for AI is anonymized and scrubbed to avoid privacy breaches and bias.

• User Research Matters:
  Dee describes consulting end users before rolling out AI features:

  • “We tried much more to understand what are these counselors’ workflows, where are they maybe getting stuck... And will these counselors trust AI in terms of seeing it in their platform and seeing the results?” — Dee (20:06)
  • Result: Counselors are open to AI when implemented transparently and collaboratively.

5. Building Trust & International Collaboration (21:43–27:40)

• Centrality of Trust:
  Trust is Aselo’s differentiator—both in its relationships with helplines and in its technology.

  • “When they don't trust the software, there's almost like a hostility, there's a resistance to... build something together. And I think continually making sure that we're earning that trust and keeping that trust has been really important.” — Dee (23:41)

• Operating Remotely:
  Challenges exist in supporting international users across time zones, but Aselo works to stay as proximate and responsive as possible.

• Nonprofit vs. For-Profit Realities:

  • Similarities: Sprints, product teams, need for technical infrastructure.
  • Differences: Funding constraints (often restricted), incentives favoring collaboration over competition.
    • “The other organizations and peers in the field are more collaborators than competitors. And I would much rather work in that sort of environment...” — Nick (25:34)
  • Sustainable growth is elusive in the nonprofit sector; even with substantial earned revenue, attracting growth capital is hard.

6. Reflections on Social Impact Technology (27:40–32:51)

• The Funding Irony:
  Even as Aselo achieves over 50% earned revenue from customers, traditional donors often move on—unlike venture investors who would double down at this stage.

  • “If a for-profit had reached that point where it was generating cash flow... they would go out and raise a boatload more capital... and this is the moment for organizations like ours that we have donors going, well, you know, we funded you already, we’re funding somebody else.” — Jim (27:44)

• A Call for More Growth-Oriented, Impact-Driven Investment:

  • Scaling modern tools to empower helplines at system level transforms millions of lives.

7. Commentary: Trust, Governance & Children's Rights (29:10–32:51)

• Trust as Governance:
  Jim’s closing reflection positions trust not as a marketing ploy but a matter of governance and structural power.

  • “In the for-profit sector, we treat trust as a marketing problem, but really it's a governance problem, a power problem. Who owns the data? Who sets the policy? Who decides what AI can and can't do? And how transparent are we when things go wrong?” — Jim (29:23)

• Enabling Children’s Rights via Tech:
  Aselo’s infrastructure is explicitly about upholding the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child—being heard, protected, and respected at the most vulnerable moments.

  • “A system like Aselo is, in a way, infrastructure for delivering on children's rights. It makes it more likely that a child's voice is heard...But that only works if the technology is designed for their safety and dignity first, not for the convenience of the software developer or the donor.” — Jim (30:38)

• Ethical Tech = Social Impact:
  The episode closes with a challenge: Tech matters most when designed to reinforce rights, deliver care, and safeguard the dignity of those it serves, especially the most vulnerable.

Key Quotes & Moments

• On Aselo’s Purpose:
  “We set out to build something that could really meet that need and meet it really at a global level.” — Nick (02:12)

• On Product User Experience:
  “Every feature that we build into Aselo [is] a direct request or something that is directly in response to feedback that we’ve heard from our users.” — Dee (03:26)

• On Open Source and Data:
  “Any new development, everyone gets the benefit... It ends up being sort of a community project.” — Nick (14:17)

• On Trust as the Core Value:
  “Continually making sure that we’re earning that trust and keeping that trust has really been important.” — Dee (23:41)

• On AI’s Limits:
  “At the date of this recording in 2025, it's not ready to fire your counseling staff and replace it with a robot, you know, chatbot.” — Jim (17:41)

• On Governance and Rights:
  “Open source code, local ownership of data, and a nonprofit partner whose incentives are aligned with social impact rather than growth at all costs.” — Jim (30:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:42 — Introduction to Aselo
• 03:30 — User experience, accessibility, and channels supported
• 06:46 — Dee and Nick’s personal career journeys into tech for good
• 13:42 — Open source approach and data-driven change
• 17:41 — AI experimentation: use cases, ethics, and data privacy
• 21:43 — Building global trust and collaboration
• 25:07 — Nonprofit-vs-profit product development dynamics
• 27:40 — Revenue, funding, and the paradox of nonprofit growth
• 29:10 — Jim’s closing reflections on trust, governance, and children’s rights