My role as Chief Strategy Officer for the Philadelphia Police Department focused on identifying and encouraging the means to nurture innovative thinking across all areas of the Police Department, as well as the strategic implementation of new solutions ensuring the Department would operate within the principles of contemporary policing.

Blake Norton's work focused on advancing the National Policing Institute's portfolio, including some of the highest priority programs and initiatives at the Police Foundation. These programs included developmental efforts, pilot projects, emerging collaborations, and more traditional research, program development and implementation, training, and technical assistance projects. Blake was responsible for working with Executive staff and others to ensure strong, effective, and efficient execution of program plans and on-time delivery of high-quality deliverables. In addition, she played a key role in the Insitute’s grant and contract development efforts, focused on federal grants; state and municipal funding; and private foundation and corporate support.

As Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Police Foundation, Blake Norton oversaw the daily operations of the Foundation, supporting its mission is to improve American policing and enhance the capacity of the criminal justice system to function effectively.

As the Division Director for local government work, focused on law enforcement, community partnerships and schools, Blake oversaw and lead the technical assistance efforts in this area for the CSG Justice Center. Her portfolio consistent of law enforcement-mental health collaboration projects, such as the Law Enforcement Mental Health Learning Site project (http://consensusproject.org/learningsites), as well as the Center's school based work, specifically, the School Discipline Consensus Project (http://justicecenter.csg.org/resources/juveniles). Blake and her team focused on understanding the complex nature of community partnerships and how to increase cross system collaboration that improve public safety and increase the chance of diverting those who might come in contact with the criminal justice system, and/or improve outcomes and service delivery for those already engaged with criminal justice entities.

Blake Norton served as an advisor and technical assistance provider on Justice Center projects that focus on law enforcement issues and community partnerships. Before joining the center, Blake spent more than 18 years with the Boston Police Department, where she helped shape the agency’s prisoner reentry efforts and successfully worked with citizens and faith-based organizations to advance consensus-based strategies for improving public safety. She designed and managed the police department’s community affairs activities, including programs for court-involved and at-risk youth. She received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and her M.Ed from Boston University.