Toward Misdemeanor Justice: Lessons from New York City

Senior Fellow
As part of the founding team responsible for creating the Center, Greg Berman served as director of the organization from 2002-2020, helping to guide the Center from start-up to an annual budget of more than $80 million. Under his leadership, the Center won numerous national awards, including the Peter F. Drucker Award for Non-profit Innovation. He is the author/co-author of Start Here: A Road Map to Reducing Mass Incarceration (The New Press, 2018), Reducing Crime, Reducing Incarceration: Essays on Criminal Justice Innovation (Quid Pro Books, 2014), Trial & Error in Criminal Justice Reform: Learning from Failure (Urban Institute Press, 2010) and Good Courts: The Case for Problem-Solving Justice (The New Press, 2005). Prior to being named director of the Center for Court Innovation in 2002, he served as deputy director of the Center and as the lead planner of the Red Hook Community Justice Center. He has served on numerous boards and task forces including: New York City Board of Correction (appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg), New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Wesleyan Center for Prison Education, Coro New York, Centre for Justice Innovation UK (chair), Sloan Public Service Awards, Poets House, Police Foundation, Mayor Bill de Blasio public safety transition team, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance transition team, and the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and a former Coro Fellow in Public Affairs.