Vera Institute of Justice

Theresa Sgobba serves as interim director of the Center on Youth Justice. She re-joined Vera in September 2010 as a senior program associate in the Center on Youth Justice before becoming projects director in June 2012. As project manager of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services’ (OCFS) Brooklyn for Brooklyn Initiative (B4B), Theresa is working with New York State officials to create and pilot a new model for the state’s juvenile justice system that is rooted in national best practices and focused on the treatment, growth, and positive development of youth in state custody. Theresa previously worked at Vera from 2001-2004, assisting in the development of the Institute’s demonstration projects, coordinated Vera’s assistance to the Connecticut legislature in its 2006-2007 efforts to raise the state’s age of juvenile jurisdiction, and led the Center on Youth Justice in a strategic planning effort from 2007-2008. Prior to re-joining Vera in 2010, Theresa served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Deborah A. Batts of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Theresa holds a BA from Stanford University and a JD from Yale Law School.