Summer 2024 – Intern, Greater Justice New York

Who we are:

The Vera Institute of Justice, founded in 1961, is a nonprofit criminal justice organization that strives to build just government institutions and safe communities free from the scourge of racism, white supremacy, profit, and inequity that is pervasive in this country’s legal systems. We are an “inside” lane organization that drives change at scale with ambitious public sector leaders who share our commitment to building anti-racist, reparative systems that deliver justice. We leverage our access to government to transform these systems and work collaboratively with stakeholders across many movements—including advocacy, grassroots, and grasstop organizations. Our role is to pilot solutions that are transformative and achievable, harness the power of evidence to drive effective policy and practice, and use advocacy and communications to change narratives and norms.

Vera has a staff of 300 people and offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity in the workplace. We expect our staff to embody respect, independence, collaboration, commitment, anti-racism, and equity—both in our outward-facing work and the internal culture of our workplace. We value a range of experiences in people’s educational backgrounds and encourage people who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system to apply.

Who you are:

Vera’s Greater Justice New York (GJNY) initiative uses data analysis, research, strategic communications, policy, and advocacy to advance pretrial justice reform, reduce the use of jails and prisons, minimize the harms of involvement with the criminal-legal system, and support reinvestment in strategies that build truly safe and thriving communicates throughout the state of New York. GJNY works with stakeholders and advocates to transform the criminal-legal system. We seek to shape a statewide policy agenda and drive local conversations about decarceration and public safety.  

GJNY is one of Vera’s three place-based initiatives, along with Vera California and Louisiana. We serve the unique purpose of harnessing our strengths and assets to invest locally in dismantling the systems that punish and harm and building institutions that deliver safety and justice. Each of our place-based initiatives are led by staff who live in those communities.  

The summer intern will work under the supervision of GJNY's lead qualitative researcher to advance the team's research and policy priorities that advance both safety and justice for all New Yorkers, including a focus on pretrial justice, parole, sentencing, jail and prison population reduction, and our overarching narrative change strategy, which seeks to understand and change New Yorkers’ (mis)perceptions about mass incarceration. This work may include reviewing existing research, developing data collection tools (e.g., surveys), and conducting data collection. This work may involve travel around New York City.   

The summer intern will be directly supported and supervised by GJNY’s lead qualitative researcher. The intern will receive ongoing one-to-one training in qualitative research and policy advocacy. The intern will also have opportunities to collaborate with all GJNY research and policy staff.  

What you'll do:

Support GJNY’s projects on pretrial justice, parole, sentencing, jail and prison population reduction, and narrative change

• Assist with developing qualitative research questions and data collection instruments 

Conduct research and writing memos to support advocacy campaigns.  

Track the latest news, literature, trends, and ideas from various sources related to criminal legal reform in New York, particularly around the issues of budget justice, bail, parole, and sentencing reform. 

 

What qualifications are we looking for?

• Familiarity with academic literature and literature review 
• Familiarity with qualitative research design and data collection tools (e.g., surveys, interviews, observation, document analysis) 
• Familiarity with social justice movements, political activism, advocacy, or philanthropy 
• Familiarity with the US criminal legal system, preferred previous knowledge or experience in New York State 
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or similar software 

 

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or similar software 

Location:

Please note this role will report to our Brookyn, N.Y. office. Vera interns and employees adhere to a hybrid schedule and are in-office on an alternating schedule. Full-time positions generally amount to 10 days pe