Elizabeth Reynoso

Associate Director at Living Cities

Location: USA

With a background in social justice, economic development, and farming, Elizabeth J. Reynoso focuses on closing racial income and wealth gaps through increasing inclusive local government procurement, strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems centered on entrepreneurs of color, and public servant racial equity leadership development at Living Cities.

Elizabeth began her career in international human rights with Human Rights Watch and lived abroad for several years before focusing domestically on criminal justice issues through her media and advocacy work. In the Frontline series, The Drug Wars, her team won a Peabody for its 30-year history of US drug policy and its effect on the world economy and US foreign policy. With the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Elizabeth’s on-the-ground work led to a package of prisoner reentry bills passed by the NJ State Legislature in 2010 that was hailed by the New York Times as “a model for the nation”.

She went on to develop policies and programs to increase food security for residents when she served as the first Food Policy Director for the City Newark, NJ under then-Mayor Cory Booker. During her tenure she created a citywide umbrella campaign and established NJ’s largest urban farm on public land, at that time, which provided training and jobs for formerly incarcerated.