Jessica has worked as the Deputy Director for Pretrial Policy and Practice at the Center since January 2022. In that capacity, she has helped to re-imagine how centralized program leadership can best support operational excellence and successful outcomes for the Center’s pretrial work with a focus on maintaining centralized program policy and procedure, comprehensive program-specific staff training tied to program policy and best clinical practices, and the creation of tools and resources to support the Center’s pretrial work through a trauma-informed lens.
Prior to joining the Center, Jessica worked with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated college students through her work at the Institute for Justice and Opportunity at John Jay College and the Vera Institute for Justice. In these roles Jessica oversaw a college-in-prison program operating at a NYS DOCCS facility, academic counseling for formerly incarcerated students, and technical assistance to other college-in-prison programs nationally. Jessica was the primary author of two publications related to this work: Reflections on Building a Partnership with Corrections: A Resource Guide for College-in-Prison Programs and the New York State Back to School Guide: Pursuing College After Incarceration.