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Colleen Smith

Project Director of New Jersey Programs

Colleen joined Newark Community Solutions, the Center’s community justice initiative in New Jersey, as the Clinical Coordinator in 2014. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Director of New Jersey Programs at the Center for Justice Innovation, she now oversees Newark Community Solutions and supports the Center’s work throughout the state of New Jersey. Colleen possesses over a decade of experience working with people involved in the legal system in both community and custodial settings. In addition to her work at the Center, Colleen works in higher education and is an alumnus of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Clinical Scholars program, a national leadership program that helps interdisciplinary teams of clinicians build a culture of health in their communities.

Colleen holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from New York University and a Bachelor’s Degree from McGill University.

Colleen's Updates

Meeting the Needs of Veterans in the Justice System
  • Article
  • Meeting the Needs of Veterans in the Justice System

    By building effective, people-centered practices in veterans treatment courts across the country, we can strengthen networks of support for our veterans to keep them in their communities and connected to the services they need.

    Nov 11, 2024

    Healing Together from Domestic Violence
  • Article
  • Healing Together from Domestic Violence

    Healing and accountability took center stage at our RISE team's Domestic Violence Awareness Month rally and resource fair in Harlem.

    Oct 30, 2024

    To End Domestic Violence, We Need a Holistic Approach
  • Article
  • To End Domestic Violence, We Need a Holistic Approach

    Despite the devastating impacts of intimate partner violence on communities across the country, traditional responses to it often fall short of what survivors and the people most impacted really need. In working with survivors in New York City and nationwide, we've seen firsthand the importance of taking a multifaceted approach to ending domestic violence.

    Oct 29, 2024

    We Don’t Have to Choose Between Safety and Justice
  • Article
  • We Don’t Have to Choose Between Safety and Justice

    For far too long, we’ve been told that we must choose between justice and safety, that those two goals are in direct competition. Community Justice challenges that false dichotomy, providing a path forward in divided times.

    Oct 29, 2024