The Center for Justice believes that those who have been impacted by incarceration, either through their own incarceration or the incarceration of someone close to them, have a unique and critical perspective to dismantle and transform the current criminal justice system. Since 2009, our leadership development programs have demonstrated that people across various disciplines, ages, and backgrounds can become leaders in the movement to end mass incarceration. We believe in promoting new emerging and established leaders who reflect the backgrounds, experiences, and needs of our communities, and we believe in offering them the tools, resources, and networks to excel.
Our approach to leadership development merges knowledge building with direct involvement in concrete projects. We are dedicated to working at the grassroots level while leveraging university resources to ensure that impacted people and their communities are empowered with the learning tools and community connections they need to become transformative leaders.
Our leadership development programs include:
Beyond the Bars Fellowship
The Beyond the Bars Fellowship offers students and community members an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of mass incarceration and social change. This interdisciplinary leadership program aims to bring together a diverse group of Fellows to further develop their leadership skills. Fellows gain a theoretical and practical understanding of mass incarceration, including its origins and its widespread personal and societal consequences. Fellows are introduced to various models of social change while having an opportunity to interact with and learn from community activists, organizers and academics.
Learn more about the Beyond the Bars Fellowship
The Collective Leadership Institute
The Women Transcending Collective Leadership Institute (CLI) offers leadership development, movement history, community organizing, and skills development to an annual cohort of directly-impacted women. CLI will include intensive training in organizing, and will create a learning space for women to gain critical skills to strengthen their leadership in the movement to end mass incarceration. Directly responding to the request of women impacted by mass incarceration, the Institute’s gender–specific learning opportunities are designed by and for impacted women to expand their capacity to contribute to the women’s justice movement.
Learn more about the Collective Leadership Institute
Project Restore
Project Restore Bed-Stuy (PRB) was a 12-month community-based gang violence intervention program developed on the premise that violence prevention is best achieved through addressing barriers to personal growth, including economic insecurity, disconnection from education and employment, a lack of role models, and unhealed trauma.
Learn more about Project Restore
