Mayor Mamdani Appoints Jennifer Jones Austin as CCRB Chair

 

Renowned social justice leader will strengthen police accountability and advance the Mamdani administration’s whole-of-government approach to public safety 

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced the appointment of Jennifer Jones Austin as Chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the nation’s largest independent police oversight entity. As Chair, Jones Austin will advance the Mamdani administration’s whole-of-government approach to public safety by strengthening accountability, building public trust and ensuring every New Yorker is treated with dignity.  

  

The appointment marks the first time the CCRB has had a permanent chair since 2020.  

  

Interim Chair Sherene Crawford, Esq., will continue to serve as a member of the CCRB Board.  

  

“Jennifer Jones Austin has spent her career standing with New Yorkers who are too often shut out of the halls of power. She understands that public safety and accountability go hand in hand, and that trust must be earned through action. Jennifer will lead the CCRB with integrity, compassion and an unwavering commitment to justice. I am grateful she has answered the call to serve our city,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “I also want to thank Sherene Crawford for her steady leadership during this period of transition. Because of her service, the Board continued its essential work without interruption.”  

  

“I am honored to serve as Chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. Trust between government and the communities we serve lay at the heart of public safety.  It is our responsibility as public servants to deepen trust by promoting transparency and integrity through our every action,” said Chair Jennifer Jones Austin. “As Chair, I will work to advance CCRB’s critical mission of accountability and look forward to the work ahead.” 

  

“Jennifer Jones Austin has dedicated her career to advancing fairness, accountability, and opportunity for New Yorkers, and I am proud to join Mayor Mamdani in appointing her as Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board. She brings decades of respected public service, deep experience building consensus, and an unwavering commitment to strengthening trust between government and the communities it serves. I look forward to working with Jennifer to support the CCRB’s critical mission of ensuring independent oversight, promoting transparency and helping build a stronger relationship between the NYPD and the people of New York City,” said Speaker Julie Menin. 

  

About Jennifer Jones Austin:   

  

Jennifer Jones Austin is a fourth-generation faith and social justice leader who has dedicated her career to advancing equity and expanding opportunity for New Yorkers.  

  

As CEO and Executive Director of Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), an anti-poverty policy and advocacy organization representing 170 member agencies and faith partners, Jones Austin has led successful efforts to strengthen the social safety net and advance policies that empower disenfranchised and marginalized communities. Her work has focused on the intersection of race, poverty, law and public policy. 

  

Jones Austin previously chaired the New York City Racial Justice Commission, the first municipal racial justice commission of its kind in the nation and served as Chair of the New York City Board of Correction, where she oversaw the rulemaking process that ended solitary confinement in New York City jails. 

  

She currently serves as Vice Chair of the National Action Network board and has held leadership roles on numerous public and nonprofit commissions, including the New York State 400 Years of African American History Commission, Fordham University’s Feerick Center for Social Justice Advisory Board, Harvard University’s Center for Law, Brain and Behavior Advisory Board and the COVID-19 “Roll Up Your Sleeves” Task Force. She was also a Visiting Scholar at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work and Scholar in Residence at Alliance University's Center for Racial Reconciliation (CRR).  

  

Jones Austin served as co-chair of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s transition team and advised the City’s universal prekindergarten expansion and NYPD Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. 

  

She is the author of Consider it Pure Joy and editor of God in the Ghetto: A Prophetic World Revisited. 

  

Jones Austin earned a juris doctor from Fordham University School of Law, a Master of Science in management and policy from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University.