Mindy Tarlow
Senior Fellow & Research Professor, Marron Institute of Urban Management
Current research focus
Since joining NYU one year ago as a Senior Fellow & Research Professor at the Marron Institute of Urban Management, I established and now lead the SCALE + Lab. The SCALE + Lab aspires to be a platform that brings multiple sectors and disciplines together in collaborative efforts to advance public safety, health, and economic mobility, and to help leaders bring their interventions to scale. Too often, effective programs fail to scale, limiting their reach and transformative power. My focus is on bridging that gap, and ensuring impactful solutions expand sustainably and drive meaningful change at a larger scale.
The Lab’s initial body of work is to transform behavioral health emergency response systems, reduce reliance on law enforcement and increase access to care for individuals and families experiencing behavioral health crises. In this first year, we have engaged in strategic action planning with three diverse states and national experts to design a high-functioning behavioral health emergency response system.
Recent project that changed policy and practice
Prior to joining NYU, I was a Managing Director at Blue Meridian Partners, a collaborative philanthropy devoted to improving social and economic mobility in the United States. In that role, I created and led the Justice and Mobility Fund, a two-pronged strategy to reduce barriers through justice system reforms and build economic mobility opportunities for millions of justice-impacted people.
The complementary portfolio of investments made through Justice and Mobility inform the work of the SCALE + Lab—whether by their broad reach like the Clean Slate Initiative, which is clearing criminal records for millions of people; or their innovative tools like the Center for Employment Opportunities’ creation of a stimulus program for returning citizens during COVID; or their policy, technical assistance and research capabilities, like the Vera Institute of Justice’s work with colleges across the country to promote access to post-secondary education in prisons.
Mindy and Tina Chiu, Research Scholar in the SCALE + Lab, are collaborating with partners to design a high-functioning behavioral health emergency response system.
What led me to NYU
I have a long history with NYU, so this was a natural place for me to land. When I ran a nonprofit, I also served as an adjunct instructor at the Wagner School, teaching Managing Public Service Organizations and Strategic Management. Later, I took some courses at Wagner in areas that supported my nonprofit work—health policy, race, gender—and it gave me a chance to step back and reflect on my work and how it fits into a larger context. I formed many relationships along the way that remain to this day. And many of NYU’s values and principles mirror my own core beliefs. I have a deep commitment to supporting the next generation of leaders, and creating pathways for urban centers to address inequities and build opportunities for people and communities to thrive. I believe it’s critical for government, philanthropy, nonprofits, and academia to join together to identify what works through actionable data analysis and research in order to accomplish these goals. Having the platform at the Marron Institute to use what I’ve learned to support others seeking to build better systems is where I want to be for this chapter of my career.
How my work connects with CCII+
The mission of the Cross-Cutting Initiative on Inequality + Opportunity (CCII+) meshes perfectly with my work history, the mission of the Marron Institute and the development of the SCALE + Lab. CCII+ and the SCALE + Lab share the belief that addressing inequality and promoting opportunity requires a cross-section of institutions and disciplines to collaborate through a shared agenda and purpose to achieve lasting solutions.
The missions of CCII+ and Marron are also aligned around the need to support policy and practice change through data analysis and research, and provide government and communities with applied, actionable tools. We aim to work with partners to not only meet them where they are, but engage them in developing and implementing solutions.
Influential mentors
I’ve had so much love and encouragement throughout the years from so many professional role models and close partners, but a few stand out. Dr. Michael Jacobson hired me at the NYC Office of Management and Budget early in my career, and introduced me to the justice system and how public policy can promote fairness and equity. Christopher Stone was a role model for how to create high-performing nonprofits that can partner with government when he was President of the Vera Institute of Justice. Nancy Roob and Jim Shelton inspired me with their strategic vision for how to bring effective solutions to scale during my time at Blue Meridian Partners.
And beyond my professional life, I am eternally grateful to the childhood friends who shaped my tastes in music and art that have lasted a lifetime.
People I’d like to meet (living and historical)
I’d love to sing “The Weight” with The Band; or take a walk through late 19th/early 20th century New York with Edith Wharton; or maybe be part of a table read with the cast of The Godfather; or how about breaking down a few pragmatic policy decisions over lunch with Barack Obama; or going to France to watch Cézanne paint; or basking in the GOAT-ness of Roger Federer; or going on vacation with Julia Louis-Dreyfus; or….
What I’d do if I could go back in time and choose a different career
If there’s a “road not taken,” it’s probably on the creative side. When I was young, I wanted to be a singer and actress, spending most of my adolescence performing in musicals (and bars!), and studying music in college. So, while I do think there are creative aspects to the career path I ended up on, part of me wonders what it would have been like to pursue something artistic.
I believe it’s critical for government, philanthropy, nonprofits, and academia to join together