Hon. Judy Harris Kluger

Judy Harris Kluger was appointed Executive Director of Sanctuary for Families in January 2014 after serving 25 years as a judge in New York State. Sanctuary is New York’s leading service provider and advocate for survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking and related forms of gender violence.

Judge Kluger oversees a staff of 200, including more than 50 counselors and case managers and nearly 30 attorneys. She manages five residential shelters and a growing workforce development training program. Since her appointment, Judge Kluger has identified and secured new sources of private and public funding, and the agency now has a projected budget of over $20 million for fiscal year 2015/2016.

Prior to her work at Sanctuary, Judge Kluger served as Chief of Policy and Planning for the New York State court system. In that role, she oversaw 300 problem-solving courts and helped develop innovative policies and strategies to improve the delivery of justice, particularly in the area of gender violence. Most recently, she led the effort to open the state’s Human Trafficking Intervention Courts.

During her tenure with the Court, Judge Kluger was also responsible for the statewide implementation of the Integrated Domestic Violence Courts, a one family/one judge model for the adjudication of domestic violence cases. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she headed the Domestic Violence Bureau in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

Judge Kluger, who received her law degree from St. John’s University, brings to Sanctuary a deep knowledge of and commitment to the issues facing survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking and related forms of gender violence.

An articulate dynamic interview, Judge Kluger’s top media appearances include CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, NPR, the Associated Press, New York Times, USA Today, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Sports Illustrated and myriad print and broadcast interviews in New York City media.

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