Vera Institute of Justice

Karen Berberich is the project and operations manager for Vera’s Advancing Universal Representation initiative, which seeks to establish a federal right to representation for all immigrants facing deportation. She supports the day-to-day operations of the initiative, including implementation of team policies and procedures, project and financial management, fundraising, and event coordination.

Karen has worked to expand access to counsel for immigrants since joining Vera in 2012, where she previously worked in both programmatic and research capacities. She has contributed to a number of research studies documenting the impact of legal counsel in immigration court, including an evaluation of the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project.

Karen holds a BA in communication studies and psychology from the University of Michigan and an MS in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania.