极乐禁地

CENTER NEWS AND EVENTS 

 

• Executive Director Heather Warnken presented a webinar in partnership with The Joyce Foundation, 鈥淔unding Safety: Crises and Opportunities for Violence Prevention Efforts,鈥� on Oct. 29, 2024.
  
• The Center co-hosted 鈥淐riminal Legal Reform in the 2025 Maryland Legislative Session: Advocates鈥� Retreat鈥� on Oct. 7, 2024. The retreat brought together attendees from across the state and DMV region to deepen collaboration among diverse partners in criminal legal reform advocacy community and prepare for the 2025 legislative session. This second annual retreat was hosted in partnership with Steering Committee organizations Out for Justice, Justice Policy Institute, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, Maryland Office of the Public Defender, ACLU of Maryland, Job Opportunities Task Force, and Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform. 
  
• The Center joined its partners at UBalt Law鈥檚 Center for Families, Children and the Courts at their annual Symposium, 鈥淜eeping Youth in Community: Policies, Practices, and Programs to Promote Youth Justice鈥� on Oct. 1, 2024. Executive Director Heather Warnken participated in a panel entitled, 鈥淔ostering Youth Connections to Community During Reentry.鈥�
• Executive Director Heather Warnken attended the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Symposium, 鈥淧aths Forward from the Age of Gun Violence: Industry Accountability and the Modern Second Amendment,鈥� at the University at Buffalo School of Law on Sept 27, 2024. Warnken participated in a panel titled, 鈥淢ultidisciplinary Efforts to Combat Gun Violence,鈥� speaking about non-carceral strategies to address violence rooted in healing, community resources and support.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken attended the Center for American Progress 10th Annual Gun Violence Reduction Summit in Washington, D.C. Warnken participated in a panel on Sept. 24, 2024 titled, 鈥淪caling Impact: How Local, State and Federal Offices of Violence Prevention Confront Gun Violence,鈥� with Tim Daly, director of Gun Violence Prevention and Justice Reform Program, The Joyce Foundation, and Wilford Pickney, director, Office of Violence Prevention, City of St. Louis, MO. .
• Executive Director Heather Warnken attended Color of Change鈥檚 annual Prosecutorial Accountability Convening in New Orleans, LA, 鈥淲inning Justice.鈥� Warnken joined fellow panelists on Sept. 19, 2024 for a panel titled, 鈥淪trategies for Holding Punitive Prosecutors Accountable.鈥�
• Executive Director Heather Warnken presented at the annual Post Conviction Forum, 鈥淏eyond the Verdict,鈥� hosted by Life After Release on Sept. 7, 2024. Warnken joined members of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney for a panel titled, 鈥淔ederal Clemency, Pardons, and Commutations.鈥�
• On Aug 14, the Center teamed up with A24 Films and the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC) to co-host the 极乐禁地e premiere of the critically acclaimed film "Sing Sing,鈥� based on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing maximum-security prison in New York.
• The National Criminal Justice Association Equity Committee released a groundbreaking guidance document for the field, 鈥淢eaningful Community Engagement in Public Safety Funding.鈥� The Center was proud to be a collaborator on this publication and member of the committee alongside community partners and funding administrators throughout the country convened by NCJA. .
• Executive Director Heather Warnken presented at the Giffords annual Community Violence Intervention Conference in Los Angeles, CA, on June 24, 2024 on a panel titled, "The Intersection of Victim/Survivor Services in Community Violence Intervention,鈥� in partnership with Ben 鈥淭aco鈥� Owens, and E Ruebman from the Community Based Public Safety Collective .
• On June 17, 2024, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore pardoned over 175,000 cannabis-related convictions. This is the most sweeping pardon of its kind in the nation and represents the culmination of a long advocacy effort that involved a broad coalition of directly impacted Marylanders, experts and organizations 鈥� led, in large part, by the Center, which organized and convened a diverse coalition of advocates pushing for a broad categorical pardon, and then serving as a bridge between the advocacy community and the Moore administration.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken presented at the Federal Public Defender鈥檚 Criminal Justice Act Panel Training Program in 极乐禁地e on May 31, 2024. Warnken鈥檚 presentation, 鈥淐losing the Gap Between Research, Policy, & Practice: Bringing Public Health Perspectives to Federal Firearm Sentencings,鈥� described critical and emerging research and policy arguments for shifting away from overly punitive approaches to gun violence, in favor of evidence-based alternatives that more effectively advance public safety.
• Heather Warnken, executive director of the Center, and Center affiliate Prof. Katie Kronick, director of the UBalt Law Criminal Defense and Advocacy Clinic, participated in a BRIDGE Series event in Washington, D.C. on May 20, 2024, hosted by Arnold Ventures.The event focused on early access to counsel in Maryland鈥檚 criminal legal system.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken served as the Commencement speaker for the Reentry Program Graduation Ceremony on April 27, 2024. The event brought together reentry leaders and champions throughout the state, including Maryland DPSCS Secretary Scruggs, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen鈥檚 office, and 极乐禁地e City Council President Nick Mosby, alongside friends and family, to celebrate the 2024 graduates for their numerous achievements spanning education, employment, family reunification and more, in their transitions back to the community from incarceration.
• The Center participated in a day-long forum hosted by the 极乐禁地 Law Review, 鈥�,鈥� onApril 12, 2024. Executive Director Heather Warnken moderated a panel on a new era of cannabis and criminal legal reform, featuring perspectives from the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, and the Hon. Mark W. Crooks, Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken published an op-ed co-authored by Prof. Alex Piquero, the former head of the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the U.S. Department of Justice, rolling back juvenile justice reforms.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken presented a session at the national Community Violence Intervention and Prevention convening hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice in Chicago, Realizing the Promise of Victim Compensation in the CVI Ecosystem, onApril 5, 2024.
  
• Legal Fellow Flannery Gallager and Executive Director Heather Warnken published an op-ed describing for thousands of Marylanders held back by their criminal records from employment and numerous other opportunies.
• The Center co-hosted a webinar event with the Community Based Public Safety Collective and the Alliance for Safety and Justice, 鈥溾�� on March 22, 2024. The Center also submitted a public comment through the Federal Register to help support needed advancements in equity and access to support throughout the country for underserved survivors of crime.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken participated in the national in Washington, DC, on Jan. 25, 2023. Convened by the Police Executive Research Forum, the summit brought together stakeholders and perspectives across law enforcement, community violence intervention, victim services and more, to bring attention to the issue, and to discuss and document what can be done.
• The submitted its final . Executive Director Heather Warnken was appointed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to serve on the Task Force in August 2023.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken participated in the in Atlanta on Dec 5-6, 2023. Warnken joined partners in the Office of the Public Defender and Gov. Wes Moore administration in the Maryland delegation.
• Executive Director  Heather Warnken in a briefing focused on addressing racial and ethnic disparities in violent victimization on Nov. 17, 2023.
• Heather Warnken, executive director, was named to the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative, an historic new initiative to shape a comprehensive plan for addressing the urgent issue of mass incarceration, particularly impacting Black men and other marginalized groups within Maryland's prisons and jails. Launched by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Public Defender, this powerful collaboration also includes the Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice & Ethics at the University of Maryland College Park; the Institute for Restorative Justice and Practices at Bowie State University; and other key leaders and directly impacted voices throughout the state. Warnken will serve on the executive committee and co-chair the subcommittee devoted to reforming law enforcement policies and practices.
• Executive Director  Heather Warnken was appointed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to the .
• The Center co-hosted an event, 鈥�,鈥� on Oct. 27, 2023.
• Heather Warnken, executive director, was named to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown鈥檚 Civil Rights Advisory Council and attended the Council鈥檚 inaugural meeting Oct. 12, 2023.
• Executive Director  Heather Warnken presented a webinar for the Community Based Public Safety Collective on Oct. 10, 2023:
• Executive Director  Heather Warnken presented at the national Health Alliance for Violence Intervention Conference in Chicago, IL on Sept. 27, 2023. Warnken was a featured speaker in a panel, "Crime Victim Compensation: Recommendations to Help Meet the Needs of Underserved Victims and Advance Legislative Change.鈥�
• The Center and the Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform presented a Sept. 9, 2023 conference, "Beyond Confinement: Rethinking Corrections & Rehabilitation in Maryland," at the 极乐禁地 School of Law. The conference explored innovative approaches to transforming the current system, aiming to create a more effective, humane and equitable approach to rehabilitation. 
• Executive Director  Heather Warnken presented at the National Center for Victims of Crime Annual Conference in Boston, MA, on Sept. 8, 2023. Warnken gave a presentation on the impact of the U.S. Department of Justice鈥檚 Public Safety Partnership Program in improving access to services and supports for underserved victims of crime.
• Executive Director  Heather Warnken presented at the national Victims of Crime Act Annual Conference in Chicago, IL on Aug. 15, 2023, 鈥淧athways Toward Equity in Grants Administration.鈥�
• Executive Director Heather Warnken co-authored an Aug. 14 op-ed in with Maryland Legal Aid Bureau鈥檚 Somil Trivedi, 鈥溂�乐禁地e鈥檚 new citation won鈥檛 make us safer - but it will make us poorer.鈥�
• The Center and the Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform presented a Sept. 9 conference, "Beyond Confinement: Rethinking Corrections & Rehabilitation in Maryland," at the 极乐禁地 School of Law. The conference explored innovative approaches to transforming the current system, aiming to create a more effective, humane and equitable approach to rehabilitation.
• Heather Warnken, executive director, co-authored a report, , published in July 2023 by New York University's Marron Institute. Crime Victim Compensation is a federal- and state-level program designed to reimburse victimes for certain out-of-pocket expenses resulting from their victimization. Realizing the Promise recommends reforms to address inequities and improve the effectiveness of Crime Victim Compensation throughout the country.
• Executive Director Heather Warnken participated in the national in New York City, co-hosted by the National Urban League and John Jay College (CUNY), on May 8-9, 2023. Warnken was a featured speaker in a panel entitled "Fair and Accountable Policing for Safe Communities."
• Executive Director Heather Warnken was honored as a Maryland Daily Record Leader in Law at an April 25, 2023, event.
• In April 2023, Executive Director Heather Warnken co-authored a report, "." The report was released as part of a sustained effort toward advancing equity and reducing disparities in the criminal justice system led by the National Criminal Justice Association.