Dr. Maurice Vann is an author, social welfare scholar, and educator at Lehman College, Bronx,NY, City University of New York, with more than two decades of experience spanning community practice, youth justice advocacy, research, and education. His work connects Baltimore and New York City and draws on both professional expertise and lived experience.
After losing his mother at age 6, Maurice grew up in kinship care. His experiences of childhood loss, family caregiving, and personal involvement with the criminal justice system bring a deeply personal perspective to his work on belonging, healing, and the relationships that help people move forward.
Having lived in Baltimore for more than two decades, he has worked in correctional facilities, jails, and courts throughout the Baltimore–Washington region. His community practice has included supporting people experiencing homelessness and working with justice-involved youth and adults. He earned his Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the CUNY Graduate Center, and his research has explored credible messengers, restorative justice, reentry, and community safety.
In New York City, his work has included collaborations with the Department of Probation exploring virtual reality and animation to support young people. He also severed on the subcommitee for communinty safety for NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's transition team. As founder of The Community-Safety Exchange, he connects people, research, policies, and innovations to help build safer, more caring communities.
Through Loss, Grief, and Community-Safety: A Graphic Novel from Baltimore, Circa 2015, through this true story, Dr. Vann brings experiences to storytelling that invite families, schools, and community organizations to talk about love, loss, healing, and the kind of neighborhood they want to share. With closing questions that can be answered aloud, in writing, or through drawings, the book creates opportunities to reflect together on the relationships that sustain us and help us move forward.
