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Fall 2025/Spring 2026 - John Jay/Vera Fellowships

Brooklyn, New York, United States

About the team:

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.

Fellowship recipients will work with their assigned initiative over the 2025 - 2026 academic school year. While there is some flexibility in remote working, fellows will be expected to work onsite at Vera’s offices in Sunset Park, Brooklyn for at least half of the hours over the course of the academic year in line with Vera’s hybrid schedule. 

John Jay/ Vera Fellowship Projects:

Restoring Promise

This Fellow will sit on Vera’s Restoring Promise team. RP team is a project that works on conditions of confinement, focusing on how to work differently with young adults who are incarcerated across the US. RP focuses on rethinking how working differently with young adults can lead them to having better outcomes when returning to their communities.  

As part of the project, the team focuses on data analysis projects and developing dissemination strategies. The Fellow will perform to support this project are below. 

  • Perform desk research on current research related to young adult interventions in incarceration and criminal legal systems
  • Data cleaning and basic coding for current research projects
  • Attend meetings with community, government, and coalition partners, lifting insights to inform our strategy
  • Review and contribute to written documents such as fact sheets, policy proposals, and research memos
  • Support project management, including taking notes, recording next steps, and managing deadlines

Income Inequality

This Fellow will sit on Vera’s Incarceration and Inequality team. The Incarceration and Inequality team is a project for engaging in how mass incarceration impacts economic stability of most impacted communities across the US and amplifies inequality.  

As part of the project, the team focuses on data analysis projects and developing dissemination strategies. The Fellow will perform to support this project are below. 

  • Perform desk research on strategic messaging on income inequality
  • Attend meetings with community, government, and coalition partners, lifting insights to inform our strategy
  • Review and contribute to written documents such as fact sheets, policy proposals, and research memos
  • Support project management, including taking notes, recording next steps, and managing deadlines 

Location:

Please note this role will report to our Brooklyn, NY 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 per month. Part-time positions generally amount to 5 days per month.

Schedule:

The fellow should be available to work up to 10 hours per week during the academic school year. The dates will be between September 22, 2025 and June 1, 2026, with some flexibility to accommodate personal and academic schedules.

Compensation:

This opportunity is unpaid. Applicants will receive academic credit for the externship. Vera will gladly assist in working with the school or program to make arrangements and meet requirements.

How to apply:

Please submit cover letter and resume. In your cover letter, please explain why you are passionate about criminal justice reform and what you hope to gain from this fellowship.

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: People, Place, and Culture / Fall 2025/Spring 2026 - John Jay/Vera Fellowships
Vera Institute of Justice
34 35th St, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Fax: (212) 941-9407
Please use only one method (online, mail or fax) of submission.
No phone calls, please. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

Vera is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status. 

Vera works to advance justice, particularly racial justice, in an increasingly multicultural country and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact, and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission. 

For more information about Vera, please visit www.vera.org.

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