Lauren Henderson is an Associate for Justice System Partners. Before joining JSP, she worked as a clinical social worker and research assistant in various settings supporting legal system-involved populations and collaborating with legal system stakeholders. Lauren worked as a Research Assistant with the Florida State University Institute for Justice Research and Development while also earning her Master of Social Work. There, she delivered research interviews and conducted qualitative analysis on multiple research projects examining reentry supports. As a clinical social worker, Lauren worked with adults and youths involved in the legal system. She was responsible for conducting assessments and providing substance use treatment and batterer intervention programming. She also provided mitigation services, which included conducting interviews with incarcerated individuals with substance use disorder and trauma history. In this role, she worked collaboratively with attorneys to facilitate the release of those she worked with from incarceration to treatment. This work further ignited her passion for transforming systems to center the voices and support the healing of people impacted by the legal system.

Lauren holds a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Social Work, both from Florida State University. Her ultimate goal is to help uplift and amplify the voices of those impacted by the system, and she believes the solutions lie in our communities.