Vera Institute of Justice

Jennifer Peirce is the associate director of research for Vera’s Beyond Jails initiative. She manages and conducts mixed-methods research about criminal legal systems and experiences at the county level. At Vera, she has also researched restrictive housing in jails and the experiences of transgender people in prison.

Before joining Vera in 2018, Jennifer conducted doctoral research on prison reform and social climate in prisons in the Dominican Republic and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Previously, she worked for more than a decade in the international development field, including with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Government of Canada (Global Affairs), leading technical assistance and evaluations on criminal justice system reform and other issues.

Jennifer holds a BA in international development studies from Dalhousie University, an MA in international affairs from Carleton University, and a PhD in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the City University of New York Graduate Center.