Vera Institute of Justice

Nancy joined Vera in 2013 as project director in the Center on Sentencing and Corrections. She supervised Vera’s work on bail reform and reducing the overuse of jail incarceration, including technical assistance to jurisdictions participating in the MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge. She also supervised Vera’s support for states participating in the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative and other projects focusing on systemic data-driven policy and practice reform of state and local criminal justice systems. Prior to coming to Vera, Nancy oversaw the development and coordination of juvenile justice and youth development programs at the Center for Court Innovation, and before that directed the Criminal Justice Mental Health Consensus Project at the Council of State Governments Justice Center. Other work has included six years at the New Jersey Institute of Social Justice developing and managing a broad portfolio of work around prisoner reentry and barriers to economic success for urban residents, and a Skadden Fellowship at the Legal Aid Society of New York. She holds BA and JD degrees from Yale University and a MA in human development and social policy from Northwestern University.