Brent Cohen

Brent J. Cohen served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. He led 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 was 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.