A Kind of Genius—Herb Sturz and Society’s Toughest Problems

In A Kind of Genius: Herb Sturz and Society’s Toughest Problems (PublicAffairs), Sam Roberts offers a window onto Herb Sturz’s extraordinary life’s work. Sturz began his long career in social entrepreneurship by reforming the bail system and founding the Vera Institute of Justice. He served as New York City’s deputy mayor for criminal justice under Ed Koch and then as chairman of the City Planning Commision. He moved on to establish affordable inner-city housing and programs for at-risk individuals. But Sturz has, to date, largely eschewed the public’s eye.

Roberts pays tribute to Sturz’s inspirational legacy of accomplishment. His initiatives have consistently provided solutions to our most challenging problems.

The Open Society Institute hosted a discussion of A Kind of Genius with the following panelists:

• Sam Roberts, urban affairs correspondent for the New York Times;
• Herb Sturz, senior adviser at the Open Society Institute, founding chairman of The After-School Corporation, and founding director of the Vera Institute of Justice;
• Christopher Stone, professor of the practice of criminal justice at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Aryeh Neier, president of the Open Society Institute, introduced the event.