Vera Institute of Justice

Maurice Smith works as a program associate with Vera’s Unlocking Potential initiative to help improve and expand access to postsecondary education for people in prison. The initiative promotes access to life-changing education by supporting the scale and quality of prison college programs and developing strategies that reduce racial inequities in prison college access and completion rates.

He is an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform and postsecondary education in prison, and he has spoken on panels to highlight the need for postsecondary education in prison. He is particularly interested in the birth of America’s prison system and how to rethink crime and punishment.

Maurice holds a BA in American studies with a minor in sociology from Goucher College and is currently pursuing an MPPA at Rutgers University–Newark.