Vera Institute of Justice

Aaron Stagoff-Belfort was a program associate with Vera’s Redefining Public Safety initiative, where his work focused on reducing the footprint of U.S. policing by uplifting community-based approaches to public safety. His projects focused on limiting police involvement in behavioral health crises, conducting research on community violence prevention efforts, evaluating the social impacts of policing, and examining racial disparities. Aaron engaged community organizations and local governments to drive change in law enforcement policy and practice.

Before joining Vera in 2019, Aaron interned with the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Aid Society, and he was a research assistant to New York Times reporter Binyamin Appelbaum.

Outside of work, Aaron volunteers as a prison education tutor with the Petey Greene Program.

Aaron holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University.