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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

Inside a Judging Session for the Book Award Led by Incarcerated People
A woman sits in beige attire with a book on her lap discussing in a circle with other women and a man with a T-shirt that reads
  • Article
  • Inside a Judging Session for the Book Award Led by Incarcerated People

    In New Jersey's Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, a group of sixteen women gathered to discuss four shortlisted books for the Inside Literary Prize—the first book award in the US judged exclusively by incarcerated readers.

    Jun 20, 2025