Summer 2025 - Intern, Restoring Promise

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:

Restoring Promise is an initiative of the Vera Institute of Justice that seeks to transform prison cultures, climates, and spaces by partnering with correctional leaders to reimagine housing units for young adults and realign corrections policies and practices with a commitment to human dignity. Transforming the United States prison system has been the goal of Vera’s groundbreaking work with corrections agencies since 2016 when Vera and the MILPA Collective opened the first of now eight young adult housing units in five states. Testimonials from corrections staff and incarcerated people and results from a randomized control trial of Restoring Promise units in South Carolina demonstrate what Vera knows to be true: when we treat people with dignity, we can cr3eate a sense of purpose beyond custody and control, forge community, and make prisons safer.

About the role:

As Restoring Promise prepares for the new phase of our strategic plan, we seek an individual who has a passion for criminal legal reform with a particular interest in changing prison culture and conditions. The purpose of the position is to expose the intern to a variety of different responsibilities and tasks associated with justice reform work, as well as general exposure to working in a large organization. The intern will be given key opportunities to develop skills in technical assistance, critical analysis, research, implementation support, partnership-building, problem-solving, and project management.

What you'll do:

Technical Assistance 

• Support Designed for Dignity with agency assessments, and trainings.
• Provide technical support for meetings and trainings held virtually.
• Join external and internal meetings and assist with notetaking.
• Support colleagues in their day-to-day work with site partners (corrections staff, mentors, young adults) as needed and where able.
• Conduct policy review.
• Support the writing and editing of documents and reports.
• Assist with the design and creation of presentations/visuals.
• Administrative support as needed. 

Research 

• Conduct literature reviews
• Support data entry, analysis, and visualization
• Transcribe interviews and focus groups
• Contribute to the writing and editing of documents and reports 

Initiative 

• Attend learning opportunities related to justice reform and share notes with Restoring Promise team.
• Get to know staff across the team.
• Attend weekly meetings with the full team.
• Attend monthly department and Institute meetings.
• Potential travel for site visit. 

What qualifications are we looking for?

• While this internship is open to current students, we are also interested in non-student candidates looking to pursue a career in any facet of criminal legal reform, particularly in a nonprofit setting.
• Previous personal or professional experience or exposure to the criminal legal system or corrections
• Demonstrated ability managing multiple writing tasks and meeting deadlines
• Demonstrated experience completing research or literature reviews
• Demonstrated experience with collaboration to produce a document
• Demonstrated ability to develop well-structured presentations (in writing or via a digital platform) 

Preferred: 

• Lived experience as a person directly impacted by the criminal legal system
• Interest in Criminal Legal Reform, Correctional Services, Psychology, Social Work or other Human Services  

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

• Microsoft office and Zoom
• Communication skills for emailing, notetaking, and internal team memos

Technical knowledge we need you to be prepared to use:

• Microsoft Office
• Zoom
• Slack
• Canva 

Location:

Please note that this role will be located remotely.

Schedule:

The intern should be available to work up to 24 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 / Intern, Restoring Promise
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.