Photo Credit
Zack Whaley
Safe & Just Michigan

Kate McCracken, Chief Operating Officer

McCracken joined Safe & Just Michigan in 2017. She leads and manages all daily operations, and heads key programs and projects. Previously she served as SJM’s associate director of communications and community engagement.

“Justice and safety each come from a place of healing and accountability,” says McCracken. “Redemption and transformation are also possible. They are, each, goals worth pursuing – and vigorously.”

A Michigan native McCracken returned home after residing for a decade on the West Coast, primarily in San Francisco. Prior to serving as the associate director of communications and community engagement, McCracken worked as deputy director in the Office of Violence Prevention Services for former San Francisco Mayor, the late Edwin M. Lee. In that role, she implemented the Mayor’s violence prevention initiative, working daily with crime survivors and others affected by the criminal justice system.

She previously served as the director of policy and development at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization working to reduce the nation’s reliance on incarceration.

She is a graduate of Humboldt State University with a graduate degree from Portland State University.

McCracken is a resident of her hometown of Mount Pleasant.