Lori Scott-Pickens (Director Scott-Pickens) is the Director of Community Outreach/NPSC Coordinator for the School of Criminal Justice (SCJ), where she works with Undergraduates, MA students and doctoral candidates. She provides assistance to students helping them to access internships along with opportunities to gain practical experience across the criminal justice continuum. She has also served as an Adjunct Professor for the SCJ and was the Deputy Executive Director SCJ’s Police Institute. The Police Institute served as the Neutral Convener for several community and law enforcement collaborations including; the Greater Newark Safer Cities, the Serious and Violent Offender Re-Entry Initiatives, Operation CeaseFire, the Gun Strategy, Newark Violence Reduction Initiative, and four of the five Fugitive Safe Surrender programs held in NJ; Newark, New Brunswick, Atlantic City and Jersey City where NJ leads the nation in serving more than 17,000 participants.

Director Scott-Pickens has an extensive background in community organizing at the local, state and national levels where she has provided consultation and technical assistance.  She serves as a Board Member for two of Newark’s premier community organizations; Newark School of the Arts and Unified Vailsburg Services Organization.  Director Scott-Pickens is also a member of the Multi-Disciplinary Team for the Essex County Youth Services Commission. She also served as Co-Chair of the statewide Juvenile Re-Entry Coordinating Council. She works closely with various levels of government, faith-based institutions, residents and community-based organizations around Restorative Justice, Community-Policing and Prisoner Re-Entry efforts where she also serves in an advisory capacity.

 In addition, she has served as a Board Member of the US Department of Justice’s COPS Office’s Policing Resource Advisory Board appointed by the then Clinton Administration. She is an active member of various organizations involved in criminal and social justice on both the local and national levels. Director Scott-Pickens has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work and holds a BA in Sociology from Montclair State University and a Master Degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University.