Scholar Profile

Franklin Cruz

Advocacy

Biography

Franklin Cruz is Chief Financial Officer at The Bail Project, where he oversees the organization’s financial strategy, operations, compliance, and long-term sustainability. He partners with the CEO and Board of Directors to ensure the effective stewardship of resources in support of the organization’s mission to prevent incarceration and advance pretrial justice reform.

Franklin brings more than twenty-five years of experience in criminal justice reform, nonprofit leadership, organizational strategy, and program evaluation. Prior to becoming CFO, he served as Senior Policy Advisor at The Bail Project, helping guide the organization’s transition from a direct service provider to a national policy and advocacy organization.

Before joining The Bail Project, Franklin was Chief Operating Officer and Program Director at the Justice Management Institute, where he led national and international technical assistance and evaluation initiatives focused on improving justice system performance. His work included supporting efforts to reduce jail populations in Charleston County, South Carolina; advising public defender organizations in Myanmar and the West Bank; and helping courts and justice agencies implement evidence-informed reforms.

Franklin also served for more than a decade as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Strategy & Evaluation at The Bronx Defenders. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he serves as Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors of the Esperanza Education Fund, a nonprofit organization that supports educational attainment and college access for immigrant students and families throughout the Greater Washington, DC region. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

High school:  Collegiate School

Degrees