Summer 2025 - Intern, Advocacy and Partnerships

Brooklyn, NY

Who we are:

The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. For more information, visit vera.org.

Vera has a staff of 224 people, is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York and has offices in Washington, D.C., 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.

About the team:

Vera’s Advocacy & Partnerships department is responsible for coordinating the vision, strategy, and staff development across Vera’s initiatives to pass legislation, change policy, and create change at scale. We work to ensure that the goals of our advocacy campaigns align with the people and communities most impacted by criminal justice and immigration policies, and we collaborate with movement and advocacy partners to produce the right knowledge and ideas needed to change policies and legislation at the right time.  

Vera’s advocacy department serves the following core functions:  

• Providing state and local government and movement strategy guidance to Vera’s national and place-based initiatives, with a focus on lobbying, campaigns, and coalition work; Vera Insights, a rapid response data and evidence team responsible for developing and producing data and knowledge to key partners and audiences;
• Federal Policy expertise to lead Vera's advocacy strategies in DC; and
• Vera Action, an independent (c)(4) entity.

About the role:

You are passionate about social and racial justice and motivated to help drive change. You are enthusiastic, collaborative, curious, and kind, and you value working with and helping others. You like creating processes to help teams function, and you like building information systems.

The learning goals of this internship include gaining insight into the issues affecting incarcerated individuals across the country, research learn and provide resources to incarcerated individuals and will learn about the various areas of the criminal legal and immigration reform that Vera’s Advocacy Department works on to gain insight that will help the intern in choosing a career path in the field.

What you'll do:

Coordinate the backlog of communications from incarcerated individuals: 

• Review and gather information from communications received from incarcerated individuals
• Research and respond to requests from incarcerated individuals

Assist with desk research and drafting written memos 

• Conduct daily online, media, literature, and news reviews
• Draft research synopsis memos  

Help create and maintain a database of executive and legislative members and staff:

• Assist with the creation of a quick-reference database providing information on electeds and their staff in the state, city, and local governments we work in

Other duties as assigned by Manager, but not limited to 

• Provide support for department meetings and special events to include but not limited to, scheduling, meeting set up, creating agendas, ordering needed materials, etc. 

What qualifications are we looking for?

• Interest and experience in program management or equivalent work experience
• Experience conducting a wide range of research to support department needs
• A demonstrated interest in the criminal legal and immigration systems by recognizing racial equity and social justice
• Experience building and refining document organization systems
• Demonstrated verbal and written communication skills 

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

• Knowledge of project management software and models (i.e. Smartsheet, Asana)
• We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity in the workplace—specifically, we value diverse experiences regarding educational background and justice system contact

Technical knowledge we need you to be prepared to use:

• Microsoft Office Suite or similar software
• Slack 

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 intern should be available to work up to 35 hours per week during the summer. The dates will be between June 2nd and August 8th, with some flexibility to accommodate personal and academic schedules.

Compensation:

The compensation range for internships is $16.00 - $25.00 per hour. Actual compensation will vary depending on factors including but not limited to experience and performance. Applicants may choose to receive academic credit. For those who need to earn academic credit, 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 internship.

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: People, Place, and Culture / Summer 2025 - Intern, Advocacy and Partnerships

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.