Henal Patel is the Interim President & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

The Institute’s racial justice work includes the Economic Justice Program, focused on closing New Jersey’s vast racial wealth gap; the Criminal Justice Reform Program, focused on creating a more equitable justice system and police accountability; and the Democracy & Justice Program, which is committed to making democracy real for everyone in the state – particularly the most marginalized. Prior to this role, Henal was the Institute’s Law & Policy Director, leading its programmatic work, and before that Director of the Democracy & Justice Program.

Before joining the Institute, Henal was an associate at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter.

Previously, Henal had the honor of serving as a law clerk to Chief Justice Stuart Rabner on the New Jersey Supreme Court. While in law school, Henal was an Eagleton Institute of Politics fellow, participated in the Constitutional Litigation Clinic, and served as an assistant to the Chairman of the New Jersey Redistricting Commission.

Henal received her J.D. from the Rutgers University School of Law – Newark and B.A. from Rutgers University.

Henal serves on the Board of Directors at the League of Women Voters of New Jersey.