Peggy McGarry joined Vera in March 2009 as the director for the Center on Sentencing and Corrections. Prior to joining Vera, Peggy was the director of criminal justice programs at the JEHT Foundation. She served for more than 20 years as a principal with the Center for Effective Public Policy where she provided technical assistance, research, consulting, and training to government agencies and civil society on policies related to probation, parole, community corrections, prosecution and policing, sentencing, corrections, and violence against women, among other issues. Peggy founded the Philadelphia-based Women Against Abuse, an emergency shelter and legal services program, and was the first president of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She has a BA from Bryn Mawr College.