Vincent Schiraldi Joins Pinkerton Foundation

Former NYC Probation, Corrections Head Named Visiting Fellow

Kim Hairston, Baltimore Sun Staff

September 3, 2025 –Longtime activist, administrator and advocate for justice reform Vincent Schiraldi has joined the Pinkerton Foundation as a Visiting Fellow, President and CEO Rick Smith announced today.

Schiraldi brings four decades of experience in the youth and adult justice fields, including service as New York City’s Probation Commissioner and later as Commissioner of Corrections. In his new role, he will work with Pinkerton’s staff to support the foundation’s grantees and lead a series of discussions with program leaders, young people and policymakers on critical issues in youth justice.

“Vinny is a dedicated, innovative, outspoken, and sometimes controversial advocate for young people involved in the justice system,” said Smith. “We are delighted to welcome his strong voice and good heart to Pinkerton.”

“Vinny’s insight and compassion have long inspired leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic communities,” said Pinkerton Senior Program Officer April Glad. “We’re confident that his continuing counsel and guidance will serve our grantees and the city’s youth justice sector well.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining the ranks of Sr. Paulette LoMonaco, Jane Quinn and other distinguished Visiting Fellows at the Pinkerton Foundation,” said Schiraldi. “I am eager to collaborate with their terrific board, staff, and grantees to create a meaningful discussion about the current state and, more importantly, the future of juvenile justice in the City of New York.”

Schiraldi describes the through-lines of his career as a passion for reducing the incarceration of his fellow human beings and a commitment to innovative policies and practices consistent with public safety. His overriding goal, as he puts it, “is to treat kids and adults the way anyone would want their own loved ones treated if they were in the same situation.”

In what he calls, the “three-legged stool” of his 45 years in the field, Schiraldi has led alternatives-to-incarceration and advocacy efforts as founder and executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice and the Justice Policy Institute. He has been a senior researcher and taught at Harvard and Columbia, where he co-founded the Columbia Justice Lab. In government, he led Probation under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Corrections under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Earlier, he led the Juvenile Services Department in Washington, D.C.  Until June, he held a similar position in Maryland under Governor Wes Moore.

About the Pinkerton Foundation

The Pinkerton Foundation is an independent grantmaking organization established in 1966 by Robert Allan Pinkerton, the Chairman and CEO of Pinkerton’s, Inc., then the nation’s oldest and largest security company. The foundation, which retains no ties to the firm, supports community-based programs for children, youth and families in economically disadvantaged areas in New York City.