Daniel Ades is our senior director of New York Legal Policy and the co-director of the Institute for Justice Policy Implementation, a partnership with New York Law School. Daniel was a public defender in Brooklyn for nine years before serving as Counsel to the Committee on Public Safety at the New York City Council and Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of Correction.
Daniel’s pragmatic, consensus-based approach to policy work derives from his unique experience as a practitioner, legislative policymaker, and agency official, touching on all aspects of the New York City criminal justice landscape, including courts, policing, corrections, and community-based alternatives to incarceration.
Daniel’s current work at the Center focuses on developing and implementing efficient, evidence-based court practices in partnership with the New York State Unified Court System and all criminal justice stakeholders. In addition, he is implementing a model for individualized jail population review that aims to reduce New York City’s jail population. The goal is to help ensure the closure of the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail facility, and to serve as a model for other large jurisdictions to reduce pretrial incarceration.
As co-director of our Institute for Justice Policy Implementation, Daniel focuses on the how of justice reform. A forum for policymakers, advocates, and practitioners, the Institute works to ensure hard-fought policy victories translate into lasting change on the ground.