Vera Institute of Justice

Krista Larson was named director of Vera's Center on Youth Justice (CYJ) in 2014 after working in, and ultimately directing, a Vera demonstration project—Adolescent Portable Therapy (APT)—for 13 years. Krista brought to CYJ her experience running this family-based substance abuse treatment program for adolescents—leading training on family-based interventions for other community programs, launching new projects and implementation strategies in NYC criminal and juvenile justice systems, managing local, state, and federal grants, and building a diverse team of clinicians and intake staff.

She began her social work career in Brooklyn at St. Joseph Services for Children and Families as a social worker and social work supervisor in the adoption, kinship, and foster care departments. Krista has a BA in psychology from the University of Richmond and an MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University.