Jay Jenkins

Jay Jenkins works as a Project Attorney for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition in Houston, where he heads TCJC's Harris County Criminal Justice Project. Since his start in 2014, he has worked to amplify the community’s voice in criminal justice policy, including supporting the Harris County Public Defender’s Office, where he has focused on interactions between citizens and law enforcement, while also mobilizing a diverse group of faith leaders in support of juvenile justice reform in Harris County. Jay has also authored and edited numerous policy papers and comprehensive reports supporting broader criminal justice reforms throughout the county. Jay continues to advise policymakers at every level of government, serving on Harris County’s MacArthur Grant Planning Committee, Mayor Turner’s Criminal Justice Transition Committee, and the State of Texas Judicial Council’s Advisory Council on Pretrial Justice.

Jay graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law, where he worked at the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s Children and Family Justice Center focusing on a number of juvenile justice issues. In his third year, Jay was the lone law student at the newly-formed Juvenile Post-Dispositional Clinic, where he promoted policy reform throughout Chicago while also advocating on behalf of juvenile clients. After graduating in 2009, Jay was admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois and worked as a civil litigator in the private sector for three years. Most recently, Jay worked in Washington, DC, for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, assisting the United States Department of Justice in their evaluation of claims and implementation of federal legislation passed in 2010.