Meet the Future of Public Safety Team
Over the course of her long career, John Jay College President Karol V. Mason has been a legal pioneer and an exceptional voice for equality, fairness, and criminal justice reform. She was a leader in the Obama Administration on juvenile justice issues, bail reform and re-entry for individuals leaving prison and in her distinguished career at Alston & Bird LLP, she was the first African-American woman elected as chair of the management committee at any major national firm.
As United States Assistant Attorney General and head of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, President Mason oversaw an annual budget of $4 billion to support an array of state and local criminal justice agencies, juvenile justice programs and services for crime victims and oversaw the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, among a wide range of other efforts.
Previously, President Mason served as Deputy Associate Attorney General from 2009 to 2012. She led the Office of Justice Programs from June 2013 to January 2017 after being nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009 and Vice Chair of that Board from 2007 to 2009. President Mason received an A.B. in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Erica Bond is the Vice President of Justice Initiatives at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has a diverse background in the government, non-profit, public policy, and legal sectors. Previous roles include serving as the Policy Director at John Jay College’s Data Collaborative for Justice, Special Advisor for Criminal Justice to the First Deputy Mayor of New York City, and Director of Criminal Justice at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
After earning her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, Ms. Bond spent 5 years as a Litigation Associate at Kaye Scholer LLP. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University.
Dr. Rebecca Atkinson is the Director of Programs and Partnerships for the Future of Public Safety Initiative. Originally from Mississippi, she transitioned from engineering to public health due to environmental and community impact concerns. She began her public health career in grassroots
organizations in New Orleans, later working for the City of New Orleans to enhance collaboration and eliminate bureaucracy.
In 2019, she joined a national organization focused on reentry services. Rebecca holds a BS in chemical engineering from Mississippi State University, an MPH from Tulane University, and a PhD from Louisiana State University, concentrating on incarceration and serious mental illness.
Contact Us
ReimaginePublicSafety@jjay.cuny.edu
Phone
212-237-8600
Location
524 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
6th Floor, Haaren Hall