Derek Coursen
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Administration

Derek Coursen has twenty-five years of experience managing information in nonprofit organizations. After graduating from the University of Delaware he spent six years working on journalistic and educational projects at NGOs in Central America, followed by four years at Queens Borough Public Library planning immigrant services and managing performance data. In 1998 he joined the Vera Institute of Justice, where he formed and led a department that carried out software development and performance measurement consulting engagements in areas including juvenile justice, child welfare, substance abuse treatment, offender re-entry, healthcare advocacy, crime mapping, court automation, and the intersection of race and prosecution. Derek joined Public Health Solutions in 2007, and currently directs planning and informatics around the administration of New York City’s portfolio of HIV care and prevention contracts, with particular emphasis on the development of systems for performance-based reimbursement. He holds M.S. degrees in management (New York University Wagner School of Public Service), information systems (Pace University) and information and library science (Pratt Institute). Derek has published academic and professional articles on managing information and designing software in human service, justice and public health settings.











Areas of Expertise

  • Criminal Justice
  • Education
  • Health Policy
  • Immigration
  • Information Technology
  • International Development
  • Law & Regulation
  • Management
  • Public & Nonprofit Orgs.