Liz Barnhart, MS, is a Principal Court Management Consultant for the National Center for State Courts with over 30 years of justice, child welfare, and human service experience. Her consulting portfolio consists of a diverse set of federal, state, and local projects that explore the intersection of justice and well-being, and the court’s role in leading system change. Ms. Barnhart’s experience spans all intercepts and encompasses criminal and civil court, juveniles, families, and adults. Her primary areas of focus include justice collaboratives such as diversion programs, treatment courts, pretrial, probation, and coordinating councils.
Prior to joining NCSC, Ms. Barnhart worked with members of her local Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to develop and fund programs responsive to community needs. She provided leadership and quality assurance for initiatives such as Crisis Intervention Team training, domestic violence multidisciplinary teams, family violence coordinating councils, court navigators, treatment courts, and juvenile and adult redeploy programs, and worked closely with specialized law enforcement, prosecution, pretrial, and probation units on training and implementing best practices. Ms. Barnhart also has extensive experience working directly with justice-involved individuals and individuals at risk of justice involvement.
Ms. Barnhart has been recognized nationally as an expert in grant writing and management. She serves on NCSC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Adult Redeploy Illinois Performance Measurement Committee and has a certificate in DEI from the University of South Florida. Ms. Barnhart graduated from Adams State University with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology, and she earned a Master of Science degree in Sociology at Illinois State University.