Koren Gaines is the Managing Director of the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, NY. Koren co-leads the organization, direction, and coordination of all substantive functions for the following portfolios Group Violence Intervention (GVI), Intimate Partner Violence Intervention (IPVI), Field Innovations (FI), Chicago Violence Reduction Strategy (VRS), and International Interventions (II), and acts as a thought partner with Operations and Finance, Strategic Initiatives, and Employee Resources & Staff Development.
Previously, as Chief Operating Officer at New York Peace Institute, Koren led the nation’s largest community dispute resolution center. During this time, she oversaw the conflict resolution and training programs in addition to operations, development, finance, human resources, and information technology during a time of significant growth – almost doubling both the revenue and the staff. Koren also served as the acting Chief Executive Officer for 15 months during which time she established a new restorative justice program with the Department of Probation and successfully expanded programs in civil courts into the Housing and Surrogates Courts and expanded the program with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office to include one-on-one conflict coaching for defendants. Koren established Organizational Conflict Consulting and helped expand the conflict resolution training for the New York Police Department. Koren led the New York Peace Institute to be a finalist for the 2016 New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards for excellence in nonprofit management.
Koren has a 27-year career with local, national and international nonprofits including: the Center for Employment Opportunities which provides people returning from prison immediate paid employment, skills training, and ongoing career support and Shared Interest which mobilizes resources for community development projects in Southern Africa.
Koren holds a BA in Physics from Vassar College, a BS in Economics, Forensic Financial Analysis from John Jay College, and a certificate in nonprofit leadership from Columbia University. Ms. Gaines is a CPA and a Certified Fraud Examiner.
