As Executive Legal Counsel Karen is responsible for providing a wide range of legal services to ISLG staff at all levels.  Prior to joining ISLG, Karen Goldstein was vice president and general counsel of the Vera Institute of Justice, serving between 2000 and 2015. In addition to her legal responsibilities, Karen supervised Vera’s large scale demonstration projects, managed its fiscal sponsorship program, and created new not-for-profit organizations from existing programs. While at Vera, Karen served on the board of Altus, a global alliance working across continents and from a multicultural perspective to improve public safety and justice. Karen also served on the board of Esperanza NY, an alternative to incarceration program working with young people and their families throughout New York City. In addition, she has had more than a dozen years of government service. She worked as general counsel to New York City’s Department of Homeless Services and as deputy counsel in New York City’s Human Resources Administration.  Before joining City government, she worked at New York State’s Office of Court Administration, assisting the administrative judge to the Family Courts in the five boroughs of New York City. Karen began her legal career at the Legal Aid Society, first as a trial attorney in the Juvenile Rights Division and then as a supervising attorney in the Criminal Appeals Bureau. She received her JD from SUNY Buffalo and her BA from SUNY College at Buffalo.