Dr. Liza Chowdhury

Consultant, researcher, activist.

About me

Dr. Chowdhury is a scholar activist with several years of experience working in the field of community corrections and teaching in higher education.

During her career as a Probation Officer, her passion was working with justice involved youth and partnering with local schools to create positive outcomes for the young people she supervised. During her career at Probation, she has participated in innovative grant funded initiatives that focused on gangs, public health and law enforcement collaborations.

After her departure from the New Jersey Judiciary, she continued her passion of working with youth into her career as a academic by continuing to advocate for innovative, evidence based, trauma informed community based solutions and safe spaces for youth.
As an expert in this field, she regularly volunteers with youth focused community organizations, consults with organizations that work with families, advocates for social justice and partners with credible messengers to develop innovative interventions for youth that are justice involved. Her main goal in life is to continue utilizing community partnerships, academic research, activism and education to fight against inequality and injustice.

Presently, she teaches at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY) within the Social Science, Human Services and Criminal Justice Department. Prior to her current appointment, she taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Rutgers University. She has experience in teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses that include Research Methods, Corrections, Gender Crime and Justice, Gangs and Street Crimes, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Contemporary Issues, Community Resource Management, Advanced Corrections, Race and Crime and Juveniles and Violence. She loves her students and believes that their achievements are her greatest rewards in life. One of her most meaningful experiences in teaching has been teaching students for the NJ STEP program inside correctional facilities. Presently, she advocates for continued opportunities for students inside correctional facilities around the country.

Dr. Chowdhury’s research interests are intersectionality, juvenile justice, gender and crime, mass incarceration, restorative justice, collective efficacy, prison infractions and punishment, racial disparity and the criminal justice system, and trauma focused violence interventions. In 2017, she co-founded a nonprofit entitled Reimagining Justice. Her partners and her provide training, motivational speaking, transformative mentoring, narrative therapy, consultation, resilience circles and support for organizations and community members that are looking to develop innovative solutions for youth in schools and the community. Reimagining Justice has partnered with organizations in Belize, Illinois, Virginia, NJ and NY in the first year of its incorporation. The goal of this organization is to reimagine a justice system that provides love, empathy, equality and opportunities for our communities.

Biography

Publications & Papers

Williams, J.M., Chowdhury, L., Daftary-Kapur, T., Garcia, E., &Vodde, R.(eds) Contemporary Ethical Issues in the Criminal Justice System: A Textbook Reader. (2018).
Chowdhury, L. The Intersections of Race and Gender and Its Affects on Prison Adjustment. Journal of Criminal Justice and Law Review. (2016).
Chowdhury, L. (2011). Chapter 15: Forcible Rape in Caplan, J. M., & Kennedy, L. W. (2011). Risk terrain modeling compendium. Rutgers Center on Public Security, Newark.
Chowdhury, L., Davis, J., Hammond, D. (Book Chapter) Agents of Change in Healing Our Communities. Prisoner Reentry in the 21st Century.
Chowdhury, L., Garcia, E. The Role of Youth Workers in Alternative to Incarceration Programs. (2015-2016 Fairleigh Dickinson University College Research Grant).
Chowdhury, L. (Book Chapter). Black Men and Punishment. Black Males and the Criminal Justice System.
Chowdhury, L., Davis, J. When Your Protectors Become Your Oppressors: Youth Resiliency and Violence.

Professional Activity

Passaic Vicinage Judiciary Minority Concerns Committee
Passaic County Judiciary
Teens 2 Be Heard
Active member of The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Active member of The American Society of Criminology

Presentations

Academics

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Work Areas

Professor

Over twelve years of experience teaching criminal justice courses that range from Corrections, Gender and Crime, Juvenile Delinquency, Research Methods, Gangs and Criminology

Scholar

Co-authored textbook entitled Contemporary Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice and presented research about Intersectionality, Juvenile Justice, Gender and Justice, Corrections, Gangs and Mass Incarceration.

Consultant

Analyze existing organizations and discuss best practices and evidence based programming to improve data collection methods and increase funding opportunities.

Activist

Community advocate and volunteer for over ten years. Currently involved with youth programs that teach advocacy and community efficacy grassroots organizations.

Reimagining Justice

Reimagining Justice Inc. is committed to fostering healing-centered and community-based solutions for violence. The organization places a strong emphasis on evidence-based models such as Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs and transformative justice approaches.

By investing in resources that address the underlying social determinants of violence, it advocates for a reimagined system that offers support to communities affected by violence. The main priorities includes victim advocacy, violence intervention and prevention, mentoring, training, and case management.

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Paterson Healing Collective

At Paterson Healing Collective, our mission is to break the cycle of violence through a holistic public health approach grounded in restorative and transformative practices. We collaborate with individuals impacted by violence – from gunshot and stab victims to survivors of domestic violence (DV), human trafficking, and sexual assault.
Our aim is to empower them by assisting in the creation of safety plans and facilitating access to vital resources. Ultimately, our goal is to cultivate a safe and harmonious community, free from harm.