Setareh Yelle currently serves as the Director of Strategic Communications for the DC Department of Corrections, where, alongside managing traditional media relations, her primary aim is to enhance communication with people experiencing incarceration, their families, and the broader public.
Previously, Setareh served as the DC Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement’s first Strategy and Innovation Officer, where she was responsible for the day-to-day management and oversight of communications, legislative affairs, performance management, research, and special projects. At ONSE, Setareh also launched and managed programs targeting individuals deemed to be at the highest risk of involvement in gun violence in the District of Columbia; launched a program in partnerships with research labs and a local behavioral health clinics to deliver Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other therapeutic services to residents impacted by violence; and helped coordinate Community Violence Intervention partners from across the District of Columbia to strengthen the prevention continuum of care.
Prior to ONSE, Setareh worked as a manager and analyst at the DC Department of Employment Services, where she provided technical assistance to and oversaw evaluations of transitional employment programs serving formerly incarcerated individuals and young adults at risk of victimization and incarceration.
Setareh has served as a member of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Violence Fatality Crime Review Committee, as Associate Committee Director for ReOpen DC’s Government Operations, Public Safety, and Criminal Justice Committee during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and as a member of the District’s Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Throughout her tenure with the District government, Setareh has dedicated herself to helping agencies use culturally competent, open-science practices, and test and scale programs capable of improving the safety and well-being of residents. Prior to her work in District government, Setareh worked in leadership roles on statewide and national political campaigns in the Midwest, Southwest, and Southeast United States.
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