Daniela Gilbert
Daniela Gilbert directs the Redefining Public Safety initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice and has spent 14 years working toward community safety and policing transformation. In 2011, Daniela co-founded the California Partnership for Safe Communities and partnered with community, civic, and criminal justice leaders on community-driven and evidence-based gun violence and incarceration reduction strategies in ten cities across California. Most notably, Daniela served as an embedded advisor to Oakland, California from 2012-2016 as they implemented Oakland Ceasefire and achieved a 50% reduction in homicides and nonfatal injury shootings which Oakland sustained until 2020. In addition, Daniela has developed trainings for law enforcement on how to build the public’s trust, and in 2015, received a certificate of recognition from Vice President Kamala Harris for this work. Prior to joining Vera 2020, Daniela was the director of justice initiatives in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health, implementing innovative programs and policies to increase access to behavioral healthcare. She also worked on collaborative gun violence reduction and crime survivor assistance at the New York City Police Department. Daniela’s equity-centered capacity building experience spans community organizations, human services, police, prosecutors, probation, local government executives, and academia. Daniela earned an MPA from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and a BA in sociology from Harvard University.