Nicholas R. Turner
Nicholas Turner joined the Vera Institute of Justice as its fifth president in 2013. Vera works to shrink jails and prisons, elevate restoration and a commitment to human dignity, and redefine how public safety is delivered, with greater investment in public health and community. Under Nick’s leadership, Vera has focused its efforts on driving national change, tripled its budget, and strengthened its policy advocacy. He previously served at Vera from 1998 to 2007, guiding expansion of Vera’s national work, launching and directing Vera’s state sentencing and corrections program while supervising Vera’s domestic violence projects and the creation of its youth justice program. Prior to re-joining Vera, Nick was a managing director at the Rockefeller Foundation, where he was a member of the foundation’s senior leadership team. Before attending Yale Law School, he worked with court-involved, homeless and disconnected young people at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a Washington, DC youth services organization, from 1989 to 1993. Nick is a trustee for the Council on Criminal Justice and the Joyce Foundation, among various current and former volunteer leadership roles. He earned both his BA and JD at Yale.
