Leandra Naranjo Email & Phone Number

New York, Ny, Us

New York, Ny, Us

Greater New York City Area

As the Program Director for the Unaccompanied Children Program at the Vera Institute of Justice, I successfully managed a nationwide initiative to increase access to legal information and representation for unaccompanied children facing removal proceedings. I led a multidisciplinary team of ~30 professionals through the close out and implementation of a new contract that allowed for increased legal services for this vulnerable population. Recognizing the challenges of our work and the needs of the team, I (through training and in partnership with like-minded managers) employed management strategies centered on race, equity, and inclusion principles to promote the development and engagement of the team, which in turn, led to a strategic restricting that enhanced the growth of the program.

In this role, I oversaw the day-to-day operations of our team’s work. I developed and implemented processes to monitor contract compliance, including analysis of program data and spending. I supervised the preparation of our reports to government partners by assisting with data review, providing analysis, and conducting a final review of all drafts before distribution. I also ensured cohesive and comprehensive program policies and technical assistance activities by developing uniform guidelines and establishing processes for feedback from our partner network of legal service providers and staff. Lastly, I revamped our recruitment, training, and onboarding of new staff by developing training guides and other materials that ensured a smooth transition. I tested the new process and materials and successfully recruited, trained, and onboarded 10 new staff in 18 months.

Greater New York City Area

Through the Regional Manager role, I developed budget analysis, negotiation, program oversight, and monitoring skills. I was responsible for monitoring the contract compliance of ~10 programs, which included reviewing program data, tracking program spending against allowable expenses, and facilitating regular monitoring calls with the program and stakeholders. Additionally, I was responsible for designing and facilitating regular technical assistance which included written materials, virtual meetings, and an annual in-person training that covered management topics, contract compliance, and legal issues.

Greater New York City Area

In my role of Senior Program Associate, I was assigned to ~14 programs and was their main point of contact for all day-to-day issues and challenges. I was responsible for conducting annual site visits of each program site to observe, over a 3–4-day period, the program’s execution of the require contract tasks. After the site visited, I drafted a comprehensive evaluation that included my observations and identified best practices, areas of improvement, and guidance for improving the program’s delivery of services. Additionally, I reviewed all program materials (in English and Spanish) to ensure proper writing, that the information was presented in a child-friendly format, and that the legal information provided was accurate.

New York, Ny

Doctor Of Law (J.D.), Law

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Diplomacy And International Relations, Anthropology, Spanish