Carmeta Albarus, a former school teacher in Jamaica, is the President and Founder of CVA Consulting Services Inc., a forensic social work firm based in Harlem, New York. Ms. Albarus has, since 1989, worked as a consultant within the criminal justice system gaining national prominence as a death penalty mitigation expert. Within this framework, she has been qualified as an expert in social history investigations and psychosocial assessments in both state and federal court. Her work has resulted in hundreds of clients being spared the death penalty, most notably that of the ‘Washington D.C. sniper’ case of Lee Boyd Malvo. She has appeared on CNN, BET, Larry King Live, E!T V, MSNBC, the History Channel, and other television stations. Ms. Albarus is the author of ‘The Making of Lee Boyd Malvo, The DC Sniper’. Published by Columbia University Press, the book was named as one of the top books on justice for 2012 by the Atlantic. In addition, she is the co-author, along with Joan Pinnock, Esq. and Alvin McLean of the “Handbook for Jamaicans Coming to the United States: A Key to a Successful Future” published in 2017.
Ms. Albarus is also the Founder and President of Family Unification & Resettlement Initiative (FURI), a 501-C-3 non-profit organization. In this capacity, she advocates for the implementation of resettlement programs for deported persons in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. FURI’s headquarters is in New York, with a service location in Kingston, Jamaica, where reintegration programs and services are provided.
Ms. Albarus was awarded the Jamaican Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation, in 2013, for service to Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora. Among the numerous awards and citations that Ms. Albarus been given, she has also been honored with the Humanitarian Award from the Union of Jamaican Alumni Association (UJAA) as well as the Marcus Garvey Award for Outstanding Service to Youths Locally & Internationally presented by the Jamaica National Association.
