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J. Soffiyah Elijah has been appointed to be the new Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York.
An accomplished advocate, scholar and educator, Elijah brings decades of experience addressing the urgent needs of the marginalized, silenced and indigent people in our criminal and juvenile justice systems. “I am deeply honored by the opportunity to lead this vitally important organization with such a rich and accomplished history,” says Elijah, who will serve as the Association’s first African-American executive director.
Elijah comes to the Correctional Association from the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School, where she has been a clinical instructor for the past 11 years and the Deputy Director for the past eight years. At the Institute, she trained hundreds of law students to become effective and ethical lawyers and to engage in local and national reform of criminal and juvenile justice policies.
A native New Yorker, Elijah practiced criminal and family law in New York City for more than 20 years. Before moving to Harvard, she was a member of the faculty and Director and supervising attorney of the Defender Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law. She was a supervising attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, where she defended indigent members of the Harlem community, and worked as a staff attorney for the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society.
Peter Cobb, Chair of the Correctional Association, calls her “a passionate advocate for social justice who uses her remarkable skills and intellect to promote equality and fairness for all people—especially people in prison. In Soffiyah, we have found a thoughtful, deeply dedicated and visionary leader who is the right person to lead the CA into the future. I am looking forward to working with her in the years to come.”
Elijah will join the staff of the Correctional Association on March 14, 2011. She will succeed Robert Gangi, who has served as Executive Director since 1983. During Gangi’s 29-year tenure, the Correctional Association has grown into a powerful and effective multi-million dollar advocacy organization. “At the heart of the Correctional Association’s mission is promoting the inherent dignity of all people. Soffiyah is deeply committed to this principle and to the mission and values of all the CA’s projects. I am gratified to pass along the responsibility for guiding the organization’s vital activities to an individual whose abilities and world view so imminently qualify her for the task,” says Gangi.
“I am grateful for Bob's tremendous contribution to the Correctional Association and for his warm and receptive support in assuring a smooth transition,” said Elijah.
Honored by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild in 2010, Elijah has dedicated her life to human rights and social activism. She is a recognized national and international authority on human rights issues and has served as a justice on several people’s tribunals focused on the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, the testing of bombs in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and conditions of confinement. A highly respected scholar, she has authored several articles and publications on U.S. criminal and juvenile justice policy and prison conditions and is a frequent presenter at national and international forums. Elijah earned her Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University Law School.
“Ms. Elijah has dedicated her life to public service and addressing the ills and inequities in the criminal justice system. I have been very fortunate to draw on her skills and passions for the past decade,” says Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Director Emeritus of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School and Executive Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School.
“Leading the Correctional Association is a life’s aspiration come true for me,” says Elijah. “I look forward to partnering with the CA’s talented board and staff to engage a new generation of advocates and supporters in the national and local conversations about the impact of prisons and incarceration on our society.”
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