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 aims to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they are fair for all. Each of Vera’s Initiatives has goals to advance legislation, regulations or policies that meet their substantive goals, be it to divert people from the criminal legal system, reduce pretrial detention, transform prison conditions or create a right to a government-funded lawyer for people in deportation proceedings, among others. The Government Strategy team both coaches and leads the teams in these endeavours, navigating the legislative and executive processes and situating these efforts within each jurisdiction’s political and operational environment to deliver on winnable goals that advance Vera’s overall goal of reducing criminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants and people experiencing poverty
The Government Strategy Intern will assist the Director of Government Strategy and Vera's initiatives with legal and policy research to support advocacy for Vera's initiatives, assisting in the development of advocacy and campaign workplans, drafting written content for bills and legislative talking points, and researching and analyzing Federal, State, City/Town budgets in furtherance of these plans.
Primary Responsibilities:
Legal and policy research to support advocacy for Initiatives across the Institute
- Federal, State, and local legislative research
- Reading legislative bills and testimony
Researching and drafting written content for bills, newsletters, guides, memos, talking points, etc. on issues in the department’s wheelhouse.
- Reviewing government websites, periodicals, news (Federal and State)
- Writing
Researching, analyzing, and discussing Federal, State, City/Town budgets.
- Reviewing state budgets
Assisting with special events and programming like workshops and trainings.
- Providing extra assistance where needed
Keeping the team up to date on the latest advocacy-related news and literature
- Researching periodicals, social media, etc. for advocacy-related materials
Education and Experience:
Required:
- Be a current Law student.
Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite
- Overall structure of government and how It works.
Schedule
The intern should be available to work up to 35 hours per week throughout the summer. Start and end dates are flexible.
Location:
Please note that this internship can be done in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Compensation and Benefits:
The compensation range for this position is $16-$25 hourly. Compensation is commensurate with educational background and work or other experience. Applicants may choose to receive academic credit for an internship/externship. 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.
Applications may also be faxed to:
ATTN: People Resources / Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Intern, Impact Pipeline
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.
As a federal contractor, and in order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Vera Institute of Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.
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
