Alex Frank
Santa Cruz,USA
Summary
Accomplished leader in social justice with proven expertise in policy change, stakeholder collaboration, and narrative transformation. Successfully spearheaded national strategies and managed a $14.5M budget to drive significant public safety reforms and systems change. Demonstrated excellence in team development and strategic planning, resulting in impactful community and systemic change.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director, Root Solutions for Public Safety
RACE FORWARD
08.2022 - Current
- Lead Race Forwards strategy on advancing racial equity within public safety systems, including designing, implementing, and scaling a national strategy.
- Facilitate peer-to-peer learning exchanges with grassroots community and government practitioners to support the scale and sustainability of policy and programmatic changes, and provide technical assistance to jurisdictions.
- Curate best practices, spearhead the development of publications and multimedia content, support capacity building, and do public speaking engagements on strategies to make public safety systems more accountable to the community.
- Cultivate partner and funder relationships, oversee project budget and grants, and drive fundraising efforts.
Senior Consultant
ALEX FRANK CONSULTING
01.2021 - Current
- Annie E. Casey Foundation, Juvenile Justice Strategy Group, September, 2023 – Present
- U.S. Department of Justice, Peer Reviewer, Bureau of Justice Assistance - May, 2023 – Present
- National Center on Restorative Justice - January, 2022 – September 2023
- Raw Wisdom, LLC, Senior Consultant - February, 2022 – December, 2022
- Justice Policy Institute - May, 2021 – June, 2022
- Columbia University Justice Lab - January, 2021 – August, 2021
Adjunct Professor
VERMONT LAW AND GRADUATE SCHOOL
09.2020 - Current
- Created curriculum and facilitated lessons on topics of criminal legal system, youth justice, and restorative practices.
- Participate in convenings and think tanks on restorative justice, ending mass incarceration, and opportunities to enhance the learning experience of students.
Assistant Commissioner
NEW YORK CITY, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
07.2021 - 01.2022
- Reporting to the Commissioner, I served on the executive leadership team to support efforts to stabilize the humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island, with a focus on addressing violence and victimization among young adults until the January 2022 Mayoral transition.
- Led and co-designed a fast-paced reform agenda, including research activities, strategic planning, training, jail infrastructure changes, policy reforms, public speaking, and advocacy activities.
- Cultivated relationships with external funders, community partners, advocates, union leaders, and city government, including leading a young adult reform task force comprised of diverse stakeholders.Managed a multidisciplinary team of expert consultants, particularly grassroots organizations and former government practitioners, and internal DOC partners across operations, programs, communications, and training to implement reforms.
Project Director
VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE
07.2016 - 10.2020
- Co-founded the Restoring Promise Initiative in partnership with the grassroots, community-based non-profit MILPA Collective.
- Featured on 60 Minutes, Restoring Promise grew to be a cutting-edge national initiative, with international partners, for addressing living and working conditions in prisons and jails across the country for young adults as a key demographic for addressing issues of violence, advancing racial equity, and ending mass incarceration.
- Managed a budget of $14.5M, cultivated and nurtured a network of practitioners and thought leaders, co-created the strategic plan, built up a 22-person bi-coastal team, led strategic communications, incubated, and implemented the national scale strategy.
Program Assistant, Juvenile Justice Strategy Group
ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION
09.2013 - 06.2016
- Managed grants and relationships with grantee organizations and consultants
- Created the first network/ advisory group of juvenile justice system-impacted young people to advise on the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy, while supporting the leadership development of network members
- Provided technical assistance for state and local youth justice reform including identifying 'inside' and 'outside' system reform opportunities to change policy and practice, designed and facilitated meetings with diverse stakeholder groups, supported local reform leaders, provided data analytical support, and co-led youth prison-based research projects
- Presented and spoke at national conferences and participated in ad-hoc consultative sessions
Education
Master of Social Work - Micro/ Macro Concentration
New York University, Silver School of Social Work
New York, NY02.2025
Bachelor of Arts - Holistic Psychology, Counseling Psychology Track
Lesley College
Cambridge, MASkills
- Policy Development and Implementation
- Stakeholder Collaboration
- Financial Resource Strategy and Budget Management
- Funder Relations
- Strategic Consulting and Technical Assistance
- Project Management
- Team Development and Collaborative Leadership
- Public Speaking, Writing, and Narrative Strategy Development
Public Speaking
- Facing Race National Conference, St. Louis, MO, 11/01/24, Building a Brave Community for Criminal Justice Reform
- MacArthur Foundation, National Research Consortium Convening, St. Louis, MO, 10/01/24, Advancing Racial Equity in Pre-Trial Jail Reform
- National Association of Community and Restorative Justice, 07/01/24, Building a Brave Community for Criminal Justice Reform
- MacArthur Foundation, Safety and Justice Challenge National Conference, Houston, TX, 05/01/24, Convict Leasing and Jail Reform: Learning from the History of Sugar Land, Texas
- Race Forward, Government Alliance on Race and Equity Conference, 02/01/24, Operationalizing to Disrupt “Tough on Crime” Policy Frameworks
- MacArthur Foundation, Safety and Justice Challenge Conference, 12/01/23, Virtual Panelist
- Annie E. Casey Foundation, Juvenile Justice Strategy Group Conference, 11/01/23, Community Partnership in Youth Justice Reform
- American Association of Probation and Parole Conference, 08/01/23, Restorative Reentry
- National Center on Restorative Justice, 05/01/23, Restorative Approaches to Reentry
- MacArthur Foundation, Safety and Justice Challenge Conference, 09/01/22, In Person Workshop Presenter
- Restoring Promise Annual Convening, Montgomery, AL, 11/01/19, Keynote Speaker
- Best of Justice Awards, Vera Institute of Justice, Los Angeles, CA, 02/01/19, In Person Panelist with NBA star Caron Butler
- Building Bridges Conference, Central Connecticut State University, 03/01/18, Keynote Panelist: Young Adult Justice Reform
- American Correctional Association Conference, 08/01/17, Workshop Panelist: Addressing Prison Conditions for Young Adults
- Annie E. Casey Foundation, Spring 2017, Workshop Presenter on Conditions of Youth Confinement
- Restoring Promise; MILPA Collective & Vera Institute of Justice, 10/01/17, Webinar Panelist
- Vera Institute of Justice & Georgetown University, Spring 2016, Panelist: Family Engagement in Youth Justice Reform
Certification
Associate Clinical Social Worker, California Board of Behavior Sciences, ASW108074
Publications And Media
- Building Root Solutions for Public Safety, Issue & Solutions Brief Series, Race Forward, 06/01/24
- Root Solutions to Public Safety: A Journey to Montgomery Alabama, Race Forward, Government Alliance on Race and Equity, 04/01/23
- Reflections on Power During Black History Month, MacArthur Foundation, 02/01/23
- Truth Telling and Palabra: A Project at Rikers Island, MILPA Collective, 09/01/22
- Op-Ed, Report from a War Zone, The Crime Report, 09/01/22
- A Rare Glimmer of Hope at Rikers Island: Can it last?, NYTimes, 12/01/21
- The Role of Architecture in Fighting COVID-19: Carceral Environments and COVID-19, MASS Design Group, 05/01/20
- Leading with Race to Reimagine Youth Justice, Annie E. Casey Foundation, 04/01/20
- Cultivating Change, Vera Institute of Justice, 03/01/19
- Through Their Eyes: A Multimedia Experience, Vera Institute of Justice, 04/01/19
- Can we Learn from our Past?, Vera Institute of Justice, 09/01/18
- To Help Young Women in Prison, Try Dignity, NYTimes, 10/01/18
- South Carolina Adopts Vera Institute of Justice's Restoring Promise Initiative, Teen Vogue, 01/01/18
- Governors Bill 7045: An Act Concerning Juvenile and Youth Adult Justice, Written Testimony to the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut’s Committee on the Judiciary, 03/01/17
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Director, Root Solutions for Public Safety
RACE FORWARD
08.2022 - Current
Assistant Commissioner
NEW YORK CITY, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
07.2021 - 01.2022
Senior Consultant
ALEX FRANK CONSULTING
01.2021 - Current
Adjunct Professor
VERMONT LAW AND GRADUATE SCHOOL
09.2020 - Current
Project Director
VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE
07.2016 - 10.2020
Program Assistant, Juvenile Justice Strategy Group
ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION
09.2013 - 06.2016
Associate Clinical Social Worker, California Board of Behavior Sciences, ASW108074
Master of Social Work - Micro/ Macro Concentration
New York University, Silver School of Social Work
Bachelor of Arts - Holistic Psychology, Counseling Psychology Track
Lesley College
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