About the New York Legal Policy Team
Daniel Ades is the Director of the New York Legal Policy Team. He was a public defender in Brooklyn for nine years before serving as Counsel to the Committee on Public Safety at the New York City Council and Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of Correction. His pragmatic, consensus-based approach to policy work derives from this unique experience as a practitioner, legislative policymaker, and agency official, touching on all aspects of the New York City criminal justice landscape, including courts, policing, corrections, and community-based alternatives to incarceration.
Jessica Kay is the Senior Policy Advisor on the New York Legal Policy team. Jessica joined the Center in 2008 as a social worker at the Red Hook Community Justice Center. Over the years, she has held numerous positions in different departments at the Center, including deputy director of court reform programs, senior associate director on the national training and technical assistance team, and founding director of Brooklyn Justice Initiatives. Jessica holds her MSW from the Silver School of Social Work at New York University.
Jasmine Purnell is the Legal Policy Advisor on the New York Legal Policy Team. She has spent the tenure of her legal career working within the criminal justice system of New York City. Prior to joining the Center, she worked as the Principal Court Attorney to a Justice of the Supreme Court, Criminal Term and was a public defender with The Legal Aid Society. Jasmine received her JD from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Virginia Barber-Rioja is the Senior Clinical Policy Advisor on the New York Legal Policy team. She has over 20 years of experience working in correctional and forensic contexts, including jails, forensic hospitals, and alternative to incarceration and reentry programs. Prior to joining the Center, she spent seven years working in the NYC jail system, holding the positions of Co-Chief and Clinical Director of Mental Health, and Assistant Chief of Forensic Services for Correctional Health Services/NYC Health + Hospitals. Virginia holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY).
Ashley Demyan is the Senior Quantitative Policy Advisor on the New York Legal Policy team. Prior to joining Center, she worked at the NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice and the Vera Institute of Justice. Ashley received her PhD in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine.
Zoe Feingold is a clinical psychologist serving as the Diversion and Assessment Coordinator for the New York Legal Policy Team. Prior to joining Center in Fall 2023, Dr. Feingold completed clinical training in a variety of forensic and hospital settings including EAC TASC/Bronx Mental Health Court, Mount Sinai Services/Elmhurst Hospital Center, and New York Presbyterian Inpatient Addiction Rehabilitation Unit. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University in 2023.
Olivia Kramer is the Coordinator on the New York Legal Policy Team. Prior to joining the Center, she worked at the New York County District Attorney's Office as an Investigative Analyst in the Human Trafficking Unit. Olivia holds her BA from Duke University and her MA in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University.