Yannick Wood
Senior Advisor for Equitable Justice & Strategic Initiatives
Yannick Wood is the Senior Advisor for Equitable Justice & Strategic Initiatives at the National Urban League. In this role, he supports the Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives in overseeing the League’s Urban Expungement and Voting in Jails Programs, state and local policy advocacy on justice-related initiatives, and in providing strategic and technical guidance to the League’s affiliates. Previously, Yannick served as the Director of the Criminal Justice Reform Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, where he led initiatives to transform New Jersey’s youth incarceration and court systems and advanced efforts to increase police accountability.
Earlier in his career, Yannick worked as an Assistant District Attorney with the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies. During his tenure, he advocated for diversion programs, initiatives addressing substance use and mental health disorders, and alternatives to incarceration. Yannick has also promoted diversity and inclusion within law enforcement. Before joining the District Attorney’s office, he served as a fellow with Transform Johannesburg (now Neighbours), a community-based nonprofit in Johannesburg, South Africa, dedicated to alleviating poverty, combating xenophobia, and promoting police accountability.
Yannick holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.