Vera Institute of Justice

Melvin Washington II is originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He is passionate about supporting low-income communities and communities of color. At Vera, he put this passion to practice by assisting with the Center on Sentencing and Corrections’ jail reduction efforts through research, writing reports, and providing technical assistance to local decision-makers. Before joining Vera, Melvin served as a political appointee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Research, Education, and Economics mission area. He holds an MA in public policy from the University of Michigan and a BA in political science from Wake Forest University.