Brent J. Cohen is a Senior Fellow in the Litmust program of the NYU Marron Institute and the former acting assistant attorney general for the Office of Justice Programs, where he oversaw nearly $5 billion annually in grants and resources supporting state, local and tribal criminal and juvenile justice activities, and victim services. During his tenure, he prioritized community needs and evidence-based strategies to improve public safety and expand federal funding access for communities most impacted by crime, violence, and victimization.

Previously, Cohen served as principal deputy assistant attorney general and chief of staff at OJP. Under the Obama administration, he was a senior advisor advancing criminal and juvenile justice reform, with a focus on racial equity and age-appropriate interventions.

Earlier, Cohen directed Legislative and Government Affairs for the NYC Department of Probation, where he helped lead reforms such as the Neighborhood Opportunity Network and the Close to Home Initiative—programs that shifted supervision and juvenile services toward community-based models.

Outside of government, Cohen was vice president for youth engagement at the Center for American Progress and executive director of Generation Progress, where he led policy and advocacy efforts on a range of issues that are important to 18-to-35 year-olds. He also served as 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.

In 2013, President Obama appointed Cohen to the White House Fellows Program. He began his career as a teacher in South Los Angeles and holds degrees from UC Berkeley and NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service.