Olivia Dana - Center for Justice Innovation

Olivia Dana is Chief of Staff at the Center for Justice Innovation, where she serves as a strategic advisor to the CEO and a member of the Executive Team. With more than a decade of experience in criminal legal system reform, Olivia plays a central role in advancing the Center’s mission and impact through cross-organizational collaboration, strategic planning, and executive leadership.

Prior to stepping into her current role, Olivia oversaw the Center’s Supervised Release program, a supportive pretrial services programs which serves over 8,000 participants annually across Brooklyn and Staten Island. Her work focused on building an innovative pretrial model grounded in supportive services and community engagement. She also served as Deputy Director of Research-Practice Strategies, where she performed original research and provided technical assistance to jurisdictions around the country seeking to build more effective and fair local criminal justice systems. As Project Director at the Staten Island Justice Center, she developed alternative-to-incarceration programs and spearheaded community-based initiatives.

Olivia began her career as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn’s Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where she managed all stages of criminal prosecution and advanced restorative and community-focused approaches to justice.

Her work has been recognized through numerous publications and speaking engagements on pretrial reform, restorative prosecution, and broader criminal justice reform efforts.

Olivia holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in English from Fordham University. Olivia is a licensed attorney in New York State.

Olivia's Updates

Four staff members in winter coats over Harlem Community Justice Center T-shirts stand outside the Wagner Houses in Harlem.

Safe, Healthy Homes for the Holidays

Poor housing conditions affect millions of people across the country, but there are ways to support families with getting the repairs they need.

Parents with children stop at an outdoor table that reads

How Community Ambassadors Help Their Neighbors Secure Stable Housing

Amid a housing crisis that has left many feeling helpless, the Community Ambassadors program in Syracuse restores communication and trust.

Center for Justice Innovation Voluntarily Recognizes Brooklyn Supervised Release Union

The Center for Justice Innovation (Brooklyn Supervised Release) is pleased to voluntarily recognize National Organization of Legal Service Workers UAW, Local 2320 as a staff union, representing many of our Brooklyn-based Supervised Release Program staff. We look forward to a productive, collaborative collective bargaining process that helps us continue our vital work building safety and justice with the communities we serve.

Reflecting on Strong Starts, 10 Years On

Over the past decade, the Strong Starts Court Initiative has worked to transform the family court process to focus on strengthening parents’ relationships with their babies.