Who We Are – Greenburger Center for Justice

The Greenburger Center for Justice advocates for effective and just criminal and civil legal systems based upon sound legal, scientific, and ethical principles.

We believe the criminal legal system should prioritize prevention, rehabilitation, and safe community solutions, instead of only punishment and marginalization. Criminal justice institutions and laws should not penalize poverty or mental, developmental and substance use disorders, but should seek public safety by diverting people with disorders into an expanded public health system whenever possible. In anticipation of reentry, incarcerated people should be given the opportunity to acquire new skills to succeed as stable and productive members of society who are less likely to reoffend.

We also believe that the general public should have better and fairer access to the civil legal system. Procedural and contractual hurdles to accessing courts and litigating civil matters must be reduced and simplified, and the current system must be streamlined so that it is cost effective and readily utilized to deliver substantial justice for all litigants.

We work to educate policy makers and the public about both the adverse consequences and successes of these systems and institutions, while promoting and developing specific innovative reforms to help those hardest to serve or left behind, so that our society is safer and more just for everyone.

PRIMARY TEAM

FRANCIS J. GREENBURGER

President & Founder

Francis Greenburger is the founder and president of the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, chief executive officer and guiding force behind Time Equities Inc., Chairman of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, Inc., and founder and principal benefactor of Omi International Arts Center.

CHERYL ROBERTS

Executive Director

Cheryl Roberts is the Executive Director of the Greenburger Center. Previously, she had the honor of serving four Mayors as Corporation Counsel or Assistant Corporation Counsel of the City of Hudson, New York, provided pro bono bond agent services to a nonprofit bail fund, served eight years as a town judge in Columbia County, New York, and spent more than a decade practicing land use and environmental law. Earlier in her career, she served as counsel to subcommittees in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.

DAMON ROWE

Managing Director of Operations

Damon Rowe is the Managing Director of Operations of the Greenburger Center. His work includes managing program development, compliance and administrative matters. Previously, he was a senior manager and counsel for nonprofit organizations, where he worked on criminal justice and community development projects, and an attorney at a law firm, advising nonprofit organizations and businesses on a range of transactions and governance issues.

JILL TURNER

Executive Assistant

Jill Turner is Executive Assistant to the Greenburger Center’s Executive Director, Cheryl Roberts and also serves as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff of Time Equities, Inc. A 2020 graduate from Sarah Lawrence College, Jill previously worked as an office assistant at the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations and as a contact tracer during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SETH COSTON

Finance Committee Chair

Seth Coston is Director of Residential Asset Management and Operations at Time Equities, Inc. and Development Manager for the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, Inc. Seth oversees the Time Equities’s residential portfolio in the New York City area along with various development and redevelopment projects in other locations. These include the development of Hope House for the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice. Hope House will be an approximately 15,000 square foot alterative to incarceration center for those with serious mental illness. Seth also oversees the operations team for Time Equities Inc.’s condo developments. His group has opened multiple buildings, including 50 West, a 64-story, ultra-luxury condo in Manhattan’s Financial District. During his career, Seth has experience overseeing a wide range of properties, from condo buildings with units priced well into the 8-figures to rental apartments with sub-$200 a month regulated rents. As part of his job Seth serves on over 10 condo and coop boards and has been Board Treasurer for the condo where he resides for over 15 years. Seth is a member of the board of directors and Finance Committee chair for the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice. In his spare moments, Seth enjoys travel, running and spending time with his wife and 9-year-old son.

BLAIR MEYER

Manager of Grants & Accounting

Blair Meyer works for the audit team at Time Equities Inc. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Florida and her M.S.W. from Fordham University. Prior to TEI, Blair has worked as an adjunct professor supervising social work students within the criminal defense clinic at Fordham University’s Law School, an early adopter of holistic representation. She also volunteered with the Parole Preparation Project, which assists incarcerated individuals serving life sentences in New York State prisons. While Blair does not actively work as a social worker, she remains committed to criminal justice reform and is very grateful to be part of advancing the Greenburger Center’s mission.