Insha Rahman serves as president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice and Vera Action, its sister 501(c)(4) organization. A leading political strategist and criminal justice expert, Rahman was previously Vera’s vice president for advocacy and partnerships and has served as the director of Vera Action since 2020.
After beginning her legal career as a public defender at The Bronx Defenders, Rahman led Vera’s work in New York, including advocating for the passage of a historic bail reform law and serving as staff on a blue-ribbon commission to close the Rikers Island jail complex. Outside of Vera, she serves on the boards of the Aspen Institute’s Criminal Justice Reform Initiative and Dignity and Power in Action, Dignity and Power Now’s 501(c)(4), where she is the chair. She previously served on the boards of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Dignity & Power Now, and the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund (now the Envision Freedom Fund).
Rahman has been featured as an authority in national outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Fox News, and Politico, and been a featured speaker at events hosted by Masters of Scale, Global Citizen, Democracy Alliance, the Federalist Society, U.S. Conference of Mayors, CPAC, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, among others. She holds a BA in Africana studies from Vassar College and a JD from the City University of New York School of Law.
