Lauren Lipps is a dedicated advocate for youth in educational and legal systems with over 15 years of experience in the field. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Outreach for Common Justice.  In this role, Lauren creates and develops relationships with stakeholders in the criminal legal system, manages the Outreach Departments in both the Bronx and Brooklyn, and works closely with survivors of serious violence and those responsible for the harm. Throughout her tenure at the organization, Lauren has led Common Justice through the largest growth period in its history.  Through a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive lens, Lauren also supports her team in facilitating restorative justice-based practices for people who have both experienced and caused serious violence.

Prior to joining Common Justice, Lauren served as the Program Director for VIP Mentors, an innovative mentoring program that linked attorneys and youth in San Francisco’s juvenile justice system. Lauren has also worked at CAMBA as an Advocate Counselor in Transfer High Schools in New York City and was part of the first cohort of the Inside/Outside class, a criminal justice-based college course at a juvenile correctional facility in Ohio.  Lauren holds a B.A. in Sociology from The College of Wooster and a Master of Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College.