Judge Collins was selected as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri beginning on December 1, 2013. Prior to that, she worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, specializing in human trafficking prosecutions, for the last three years of her nearly ten year-tenure as a federal prosecutor.  Judge Collins began her legal career in private practice with concentrations in commercial litigation and employment law and client counseling.  Judge Collins is serving her second term on the Federal Judicial Center’s Magistrate Judge Education Advisory Committee, which provides training and programming to the nation’s Magistrate Judges.  Her District Court committees have included work on alternative dispute resolution and local rules.  She is also a presiding judge over the Janis C. Good Mental Health Court.  Judge Collins received her J.D. from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and her MSJ and BSJ in journalism from Northwestern University.  Prior to law school, Judge Collins worked as a magazine editor in New York City.