The Office of the Assistant Attorney General (OAAG) is responsible for the overall management and oversight of OJP. This includes setting policy; ensuring that OJP policies and programs reflect the priorities of the President, the Attorney General, and the Congress; and promoting coordination among the OJP program offices.
Leadership
Brent J. Cohen
Acting Assistant Attorney General
About Brent
Brent J. Cohen serves as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. He leads the Justice Department’s principal funding, research, and statistical component, overseeing about $5 billion annually in grants and other resources to support state, local, and Tribal criminal and juvenile justice activities and victim service programs. Prior to being named OJP’s Acting Assistant Attorney General, Brent served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff.
Previously, Brent was the Vice President for Youth Engagement at the Center for American Progress and the Executive Director of Generation Progress, where he led advocacy efforts on a range of issues including criminal justice reform. Before joining CAP, Brent served as the Vice President and Interim CEO of JustLeadershipUSA, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to cutting the U.S. correctional population in half by empowering the people most affected by incarceration to drive policy change.
This is Brent’s second time working in federal government; he was appointed by President Obama to the prestigious White House Fellows Program, and later served as a Senior Advisor in OJP’s Office of the Assistant Attorney General. At OJP, he led and contributed to efforts to advance criminal and juvenile justice reform, with a focus on eliminating racial disparities and implementing developmentally appropriate responses for children and young adults.
Before coming to DC, Brent held roles with the New York City Department of Correction, and later served as the Director of Legislative and Government Affairs for the New York City Department of Probation. There, he led efforts on two landmark reforms: the Neighborhood Opportunity Network, which transformed the community supervision model in New York City into one that was community-focused and responsive to the needs of people on probation, and the Close to Home Initiative, which realigned juvenile justice services from the state to the city while significantly expanding community-based intervention options and reducing reliance on secure care.
Brent began his career in public service as a teacher in South Los Angeles. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s in public administration from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Maureen Henneberg
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
About Maureen
Maureen A. Henneberg is the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Operations and Management, in the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. She has served in this role since February 2015, following a one-year term as Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General. In this position, she advises the Assistant Attorney General on management and operational issues, overseeing OJP’s business offices, including the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; the Office of Administration; the Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management; the Office of the Chief Information Officer; the Office of Communications; and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity.
Before joining the Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Maureen served for five years as Director of OJP's Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management. In this capacity, she led the review of OJP's critical financial processes, grants management activities and grant programs to ensure compliance and proper internal control and to promote integrity, accountability and sound stewardship and management of OJP's grant programs and operations.
Maureen was also a senior manager in OJP's Bureau of Justice Statistics, where she served as Deputy Director overseeing the office's planning, management and budget activities; publication and dissemination operations; and programs designed to improve crime information and statistics at state and local levels. She began her career with BJS in 1990 as a Presidential Management Intern and served in several capacities over her 18-year tenure, including as Acting Director; Associate Director of Planning, Management, and Budget; and Acting Chief of Criminal History Improvement Programs.
Maureen earned a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in judicial administration from American University in Washington, D.C., in 1990. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and minors in criminal justice and public administration from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 1988.