Vera Institute of Justice

Yolande Cadore was the director of movement strategy at the Vera Institute of Justice, where she connected Vera’s internal advocacy strategy to broader movement goals to end criminalization and mass incarceration in the United States. In her role, she supported teams and initiatives by ensuring that their advocacy goals are strategically aligned with the vision of community partners and allies working to end mass incarceration and overcriminalization and that Vera’s work with community partners is guided by the organization’s core values—respect, equity, collaboration, and commitment. Prior to joining Vera, Yolande served as the director of strategic partnerships at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), where she connected local drug policy reform partners to DPA’s national and broader drug policy reform movement goals. Yolande was also the interim director for reinvestment at Community Change, where she worked with Black-led organizations to address issues of marginalization and disinvestment and partnered with formerly incarcerated women of color to innovate local policy initiatives to end overcriminalization in their communities. She was also previously the acting executive director of New York State Tenants & Neighbors. Yolande began her career as a community organizer with ACORN and later served as director of organizing for WE ACT for Environmental Justice in West Harlem. She researches and writes on advocacy, mass incarceration, and the Black church.