The Rev. Nikia Smith Robert, Ph.D., is a nationally and internationally recognized thought-leader and speaker on the topics of mass punishment, abolition, religion, and Black motherhood. Her expertise as a womanist abolitionist scholar focuses on Black women’s experience with criminality and religious responses to galvanize a faith-based abolitionist movement. 

Dr. Robert is the Founder and Executive Director of Abolitionist Sanctuary. Our mission is to build a national coalition of Black-serving churches, civic organizations and communities trained in abolitionist principles to unite against the moral crisis of mass incarceration and the criminalization of impoverished Black motherhood. 

Dr. Robert was featured on ABC, NBC, and CBS television networks, NPR, LA Magazine, Sojourners Magazine, The National Catholic Reporter, The AME Christian Recorder, and other media outlets.