Jania Stewart-James
Community-Engaged Research Manager • jania.stewart-james@yale.edu
Jania Stewart-James, LMSW, is a Community-Engaged Research Manager at The Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School.
In her role, she leads community engagement and strategic planning while supporting financial oversight for key initiatives, including the CONNECT project, a statewide initiative focused on co-designing community-engaged police training curricula across Connecticut municipalities. With a strong foundation in social work practice, policy, and research, Jania specializes in community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) at the intersection of restorative justice, violence prevention, and community vitality. She is passionate about ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities for marginalized groups. Centering her work on authentic relationship-building, she fosters trust and collaboration to bridge academia and local neighborhoods, translating lived expertise into impactful, community-informed outcomes. Her research contributions include national conference presentations and co-authored publications on the credible messenger model, health behavior change, and participatory methodologies.
Jania holds a Master of Science in Social Work (Policy Practice) from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychological Sciences with Honors from the University of Connecticut. A New Haven native, she is also a devoted Huskies’ Basketball fan.
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