Michael P. Jacobson joined Vera as its fourth director in January 2005. Before then he was a professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. A PhD in sociology, he was the New York City Correction Commissioner from 1995 to 1998 and the City's Probation Commissioner from 1992 to 1996. Prior to that, he worked in the New York City Office of Management and Budget from 1984 to 1992 where he was the Deputy Budget Director. He is the author of Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration (New York University Press 2005). He serves as chair of the New York City Criminal Justice Agency.