Gina Peralta is a program officer with the Human Rights program at the Heising-Simons Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2019, Gina served as the director of site management at The W. Haywood Burns Institute (the Burns Institute), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing racial and ethnic equity in the justice system by creating community-based alternatives to system involvement. During her tenure, Gina provided strategic direction to system and community stakeholders working to improve local and state policies contributing to racial and ethnic disparities, and also raised awareness about the impact of the justice system on Native American and Latino communities. Prior to working at the Burns Institute, Gina was an education advocate at Public Counsel Law Center for youth involved in the delinquency and dependency systems in Los Angeles County. Gina is also a former probation officer who has worked with youth, adults, and families involved in the justice system. Gina earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and women’s studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master’s degree in social welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles.