WASHINGTON, D.C. — JPI’s Board of Directors is proud to announce that its recently appointed Executive Director, Marc Schindler, is one of the newest recipients of the Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) New Executives Fund, a world-wide initiative designed to provide key financial support so that a new generation of leaders around the world can implement their initiatives.    

The New Executives Fund supports executive directors and chief executive officers who have the potential to be leaders in fields that are central to Open Society’s mission, including helping to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights.

“The JPI Board of Directors applauds OSF’s recognition of Marc’s leadership abilities and is grateful to the Foundation for its continued support,” said Peter Leone, Ph.D., JPI Board Chair and Professor in the College of Education at the University of Maryland. “In the short time since Marc joined JPI he has brought energy, his breadth of experience and his knowledge of the criminal and juvenile justice system to our work. Most importantly, he provides the passion and drive needed to achieve positive change in today’s changing justice system reform landscape.”

The Open Society Foundations announced the fund and its inaugural round of recipients in June 2013 to help nonprofit organizations during their first two years of new leadership. Schindler joined JPI in August 2013, bringing to the organization his varied experiences in law, policy, litigation, government and philanthropy. He has been selected in the second round of recipients of the New Executives Fund.

“The initial period when a new executive is appointed can be the most challenging and simultaneously the most promising time for an organization,” stated Chris Stone, president of the Open Society Foundations, when the fund was first unveiled this summer. “New leaders share a common experience of deferring their visions because they are bound by constraints. We want to avoid this problem. Periods of transition for nonprofits should be fertile moments for positive change and growth and help inject new vitality into an organization.”

“Receiving this grant award on behalf of the Justice Policy Institute is a great honor and will help us continue working with our partners throughout the country in the fight against mass incarceration” said Schindler. “We appreciate OSF’s ongoing support, which allows JPI to continue our work reframing the debate around justice system policies.”

The Justice Policy Institute, based in Washington, D.C., is working to reduce the use of incarceration and the justice system and promote policies that improve the well-being of all people and communities. For more JPI reports on the criminal justice system, please visit our website at http://www.justicepolicy.org