Executive Director
Center for Criminal Justice Reform
410.837. 4174
John and Frances Angelos Law Center, Room 539
Administrative Assistant: Allyson Rowe - arowe@ubalt.edu
John and Frances Angelos Law Center, Dean's Suite
Education
LL.M., University of California, Berkeley School of Law
J.D., Suffolk University Law School, cum laude
B.A., Johns Hopkins University, with honors
Areas of Expertise
Criminal Justice Policy Reform and Implementation
Mass Incarceration
Trauma, Victimization, Victim Services
Reentry
Research Translation
Research-Practitioner Partnerships
Warnken was named executive director of the Center in January 2022. Prior to coming to the University of Baltimore, her work at both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Berkeley's Warren Institute was focused on addressing the harm caused by the criminal legal system and promoting healing in marginalized communities. This work has included efforts to end the criminalization of trauma, and to increase resources for community-based strategies and services that more effectively enhance public safety and prevent harm.
Warnken was named in October 2023 to the Executive Committee of the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative, an historic initiative launched by the Maryland Attorney General and Public Defender to shape a comprehensive plan for addressing mass incarceration, particularly impacting Black men and other marginalized groups within Maryland's prisons and jails. She leads the Center's legislative and policy reform efforts at the state and national levels, including working to advance bills spanning decarceration, reentry, expungement, drug policy, policing, victim services and violence reduction, in the Maryland General Assembly's 2024 session.
As a visiting fellow at DOJ, Office of Justice Programs, co-affiliated with the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Office for Victims of Crime, Warnken served in the first-ever position dedicated to bridging the gaps among research, policy and practice to improve the response to individuals and communities impacted by crime victimization. Through this role she facilitated collaboration across federal, state and local government partners, practitioners and researchers, and directly impacted communities in the implementation of equitable, data-driven policies and programs nationwide.
These efforts included working on the design and launch of the first-ever Victim Services Statistical Research Program, and supporting the equitable distribution of federal funds. Warnken worked with multiple cities in their efforts to address and reduce violence through the DOJ-led Public Safety Partnership, including leading an assessment for the city of Baltimore focused on improving the response to Black and brown victims of gun violence. She also served on the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims, the Estimating the Financial Costs of Victimization study, and the Collective Healing National Demonstration Initiative, working with five cities to promote trauma-informed responses, accountability and trust-building between police and the communities they serve.
Prior to DOJ, Warnken spent five years as a legal policy associate at the Warren Institute on Law & Social Policy at University of California, Berkeley School of Law. While there, she worked on multidisciplinary initiatives in criminal and juvenile justice reform, including leading two statewide needs assessments on how to improve access to services and compensation for underserved survivors of crime. She also worked as a research partner for Californians for Safety and Justice; as program director for the Mitigating the Effects of Poverty component of the Partners for Each and Every Child initiative; and as a consultant for the City and County of San Francisco, writing policies to improve outcomes for youth, families and staff impacted by the juvenile justice system.
Warnken serves on the Maryland Attorney General’s Civil Rights Advisory Council, and the Task Force to Study Transparency Standards for State’s Attorneys, appointed by Gov. Wes Moore. In 2023 she was recognized by The Daily Record as one of Maryland’s Leaders in Law, and received, in partnership with the center’s faculty director, the law school faculty scholarship award for Excellence in Public Discourse.
Warnken clerked for the Hon. Joseph F. Murphy on the Court of Appeals of Maryland (now the Supreme Court of Maryland), and has provided pro bono legal assistance in a range of civil, criminal and administrative matters. She has authored numerous publications, testified in state legislatures, and presented her work at dozens of conferences and other venues throughout the country. She was a 2015 Women's Foundation of California Criminal Justice Fellow, a 2014 New Leaders Council Fellow, and was profiled in Refinery29's Month of Visionaries series for her innovative work to promote dignity and healing for survivors of crime. She holds an LL.M. from UC Berkeley School of Law (where she received the Fahey Award for deep commitment to ending violence against women); a J.D., cum laude with pro bono distinction, from Suffolk University Law School, and a B.A., with honors, from Johns Hopkins University.