Vera Institute of Justice

Raf Jefferson is the vice president of communications and external affairs. She is a member of Vera’s leadership team and leads strategic communications including media relations, digital engagement, and editorial strategy for Vera’s core priorities and initiatives.

Raf has more than 20 years of communications experience. Prior to joining Vera, she led communications strategies to advance equality as the managing director of communications at the Brennan Center and the managing director of communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In these roles, she oversaw the editorial and creative direction for long-lead projects, supervised senior communications staff, and managed operations and special projects, bringing new visibility to each organization. As the public education attorney at Lambda Legal, she managed outreach staff, oversaw a series of successful community organizing and public education campaigns, and coordinated a nationwide outreach strategy in preparation for Lawrence v. Texas.

Raf earned her J.D. from Boston College Law School, where she was the editor in chief of the Boston College Third World Law Journal, her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia University School of the Arts, and her B.A. from Wheaton College in Massachusetts.