After more than a decade practicing criminal law, Monica Smith joined Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights as a policy attorney. She works on nationwide criminal justice reform efforts focused on ending pre-trial detention and mass incarceration.
In her previous role as Director of the Miller Center for Special Mitigation at Friends of Island Academy, Monica partnered with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights to minimize the length of time 16 – 21 year olds spent on Rikers Island.
Monica began her career as a public defender in Kentucky and worked in Louisiana as an attorney for individuals facing civil commitment and for children in delinquency and child in need of care matters.
Monica earned a B.A. in Political Science from Xavier University of Louisiana and a J.D. from Southern University Law Center.