Jeralita “Jeri” Costa
 Chair, Indeterminate Sentence Review Board

Ms. Costa began her work in the criminal justice field as a citizen activist in 1976. She currently serves as Chair of the Washington State Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB), having been appointed to that position in April 2005, by Governor Gregoire. Governor Locke appointed her to the ISRB in September 2004. Just prior to her appointment to the ISRB, Ms. Costa served as a Community Victim Liaison for the Washington State Department of Corrections; providing specialized safety planning services for the victims of high risk offenders returning to the community.

Between 1995 and 2002, Ms. Costa served three terms in the Washington State Legislature: four years in the House of Representatives (1995-1998) and four years in the Senate (1999 – 2002.) Costa chaired numerous Task Forces and Sub Committees on a variety of juvenile and criminal justice issues while in the legislature.

Prior to her service in the state legislature, Ms. Costa was the Assistant Director of Education and Training for the National Victim Center (now the National Center for Victims of Crime) in Arlington, Virginia and served as the Executive Director of Families and Friends of Violent Crime Victims in Seattle, Washington. She served in leadership positions in the Washington State Coalition of Crime Victim Advocates between 1989 and 1995.

She has served on the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, the Jail Industries Board, the Correctional Industries Board, the Children’s Commission, the Washington State Bar Association’s Emerging Appropriate Dispute Resolution Committee, and numerous other boards and commissions. She currently serves on the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, the Sex Offender Policy Board, and the Supreme Court's Gender and Justice Commission.

Ms. Costa is an International trainer on criminal and victim justice issues.