Insha Rahman • United States of America

Insha Rahman is the Vice President of Advocacy and Partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice and also serves as the Director of Vera Action, its independent 501(c)(4) sister organization. In these leadership roles, she drives advocacy priorities and campaigns, working closely with governments and communities to tackle mass incarceration, defend immigrant rights, ensure dignity for those who are incarcerated, and support safer, stronger communities. She also oversees place-based initiatives in California, Louisiana, and New York, ensuring that local needs shape national reform.

She is widely recognized as a national expert on criminal legal reform and has been featured in well-known outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, City and State, Mother Jones, PBS’s MetroFocus, and The Nation. Over the past year, Rahman has spearheaded efforts to reshape public dialogue on safety, accountability, and justice. By countering harmful “tough-on-crime” narratives, especially during election seasons, she has promoted solutions that are evidence-based, cost-effective, and more humane. In 2024, she spoke at the Masters of Scale Summit, where she shared why punitive policies fail and presented a vision focused on rehabilitation, restorative justice, and investments in communities.

Her connection to this work began during her time at Vassar College, when she participated in a college-in-prison program. The experience gave her firsthand insight into how the system failed to deliver fairness or absolute safety. Learning about Vera Institute’s research on alternatives to incarceration reinforced her belief that effective solutions were possible. Since then, she has taken on multiple roles at the organization, from leading bail reform nationally to overseeing justice reform in New York, before moving into her current position guiding national advocacy.

Her professional background also includes working as a staff attorney at The Bronx Defenders, where she represented clients facing serious charges and supported families through difficult situations. She later served as an Associate Planner at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services and as a Program Associate at Vera Institute’s Center on Immigration and Justice. These roles gave her the ability to bring together legal expertise, policy strategies, and community needs to achieve lasting change.

Beyond her work at Vera, she is an active board member of the Aspen Institute’s Criminal Justice Reform Initiative and Dignity and Power Now, where she also chairs the board. She is deeply committed to mentorship, holding regular conversations with people interested in pursuing careers in criminal justice and social justice, offering the kind of guidance that helped her early on. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Africana studies from Vassar College and a JD from the City University of New York School of Law, she brings nearly 25 years of experience to her work. For Rahman, the mission has always been about creating hope, supporting communities, and ensuring that justice works fairly for everyone.