Skip to Content
Headshot of Olivia Dana

Olivia Dana

Chief of Staff

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

Many Paths to Prevention: Transforming Responses to Gun Violence

Many Paths to Prevention: Transforming Responses to Gun Violence

Our communities are safest when they have resources, support, and hope. This Gun Violence Awareness Month, take a look at how our teams across the Center are preventing gun violence by advancing justice in all its facets.

Jun 12, 2024

Center for Justice Innovation Launches the “Street Action Network,” a Cutting-Edge Community Research Program Led by People with Firsthand Knowledge of the Streets

Center for Justice Innovation Launches the “Street Action Network,” a Cutting-Edge Community Research Program Led by People with Firsthand Knowledge of the Streets

The Street Action Network will leverage community safety research—conducted by and for people with lived experience in street networks—to deepen the Center’s nearly three decades of work to decrease gun violence.

May 31, 2024

How Restorative Justice Fosters Accountability and Repair

How Restorative Justice Fosters Accountability and Repair

When our default response is to meet harm with punishment and isolation, it’s hard to imagine a different path forged with dialogue and understanding. But by taking that step, we can get closer to genuine accountability and repair.

May 28, 2024