Vera Institute of Justice

Marta Nelson is the director of sentencing reform, where she guides efforts to end excessive incarcerative sentences and develop options for community-based accountability. She was previously Vera’s director of government strategy.

Before joining Vera in 2019, Marta worked as the special counselor for criminal justice initiatives in the New York State Governor’s Office, where she worked on a number of reforms, including the 2019 overhaul of the state’s bail reform laws. Previously, Marta had an extensive career helping to reduce barriers for people with conviction histories, including as the New York City executive director of the Center for Employment Opportunities, project director at Project Greenlight and the Adolescent Portable Therapy project at Vera, and as a prisoners’ rights lawyer at the Legal Aid Society of New York.

Marta holds a BA in religious studies from Brown University and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School.