Keenon M. James
Crime Victims' Rights & Public Safety Policy Strategist
Upper Marlboro,MD
Summary
Keenon James is an organization management and public policy professional with nearly twenty years of experience supporting innovative programs and reforms to the criminal justice system, public safety agencies, and crime victims' rights. An effective communicator and advocate combining local, state, and federal policy experience, Keenon has developed and implemented tailored solutions that close accessibility gaps, address racial disparities, build public trust, and improve equity in the administration of public resources.
Keenon has partnered with local law enforcement agency and community leaders across the country including, but not limited to: San Francisco, CA, Commerce City, CO, St. Mary's County, MD, Memphis, TN, Fort Pierce, FL, North Charleston, SC, St. Anthony, MN, Baltimore, MD, and Fayetteville, NC; to review their policing practices, analyze enforcement data and trends, evaluate training curriculum, assess disciplinary actions, and solicit community input on strategies to improve public safety, community-police interactions, personnel accountability, and operational transparency.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
12
12
Years of management experience
Work History
Senior Director, Everytown Survivor Network
Everytown For Gun Safety
Washington, DC
04.2021 - Current
- Leads a national gun safety and crime victims advocacy program, Everytown Survivor Network (ESN), to improve public safety, prevent gun violence, protect children and families, enact trauma-informed public policies, and establish life saving gun safety legislation.
- Collaborates with state and federal legislators to pass legislation to prohibit ghost guns, reinforce red flag laws, protect victims of domestic violence, increase child access prevention standards, strengthen background check requirements, bolster law enforcement investigation resources, and invest in community-based gun violence intervention and prevention programs.
- Organizes gun violence survivors all types including: homicide, suicide, unintentional, police, mass, workplace, and domestic violence to address personal safety, grief, mental health, and community trauma resulting from gun violence.
- Successfully achieved diversity improvement goals for the ESN increasing the number of men, people of color, and English as a Second Language (ESL) participants creating a more equitable representation of those impacted by gun violence.
- Continues to elevate the real life stories of gun violence survivors and communities to inform local, state, and federal policies and funding for crime victims' services, community violence reduction strategies, gun safety initiatives, and trauma-informed protocols. Partners with local non-profits to support grassroots gun violence prevention and community education programs to improve public safety for the entire community.
Deputy Director
Nat'l Org. Of Black Law Enforcement Executives
Alexandria, VA
07.2019 - 04.2021
- Policy, administration, and training management executive for the nation's leading organization for ethnic minority police chiefs, sheriffs, and law enforcement agency leaders.
- Led collaborations with law enforcement, labor, community, faith, and research organizations to develop and implement innovation policing, corrections, recruitment, training, and criminal justice reform policies.
- Led the revisions and adaption to virtual learning for the curriculum of the organization's flagship community education and outreach program, The Law and Your Community.
- Faced with unprecedented national policing practice reprisal in the summer of 2020, coordinated police executives response and reaction to use of force incidents, operational transparency, personnel accountability, community oversight, and implementation of modern policing practices.
- Advanced federal, state, and local legislative initiatives to enhance public safety, increase operational transparency, and restore public trust for law enforcement.
Supervisory Program Specialist (GS-15)
USDOJ COPS Office
Washington, DC
06.2016 - 07.2019
- Serving within the United States Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), led the Policing Practices and Accountability Initiative (PPAI), a critical component of President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
- Coordinated the COPS Office partnership with local law enforcement agencies to embrace the six pillars of the Task Force and community policing strategies as a part of the Collaborative Reform Initiative.
- Reviewed agency operating policies and procedures, general orders, researched and analyzed use of force, traffic stops, arrests, and service call response datasets and policies; reviewed in-service training courses, appraised recruiting and retention plans, officer wellness offerings, and assessed the organization's culture, community engagement, organizational effectiveness, and trust-building strategies.
- Provided agency leaders, local officials, community groups, and stakeholders with a comprehensive report, including specific recommendations and follow-up technical assistance, to modernize the agency's operations, legitimize community engagement, support officer wellness, establish personnel accountability standards, and achieve nationally adopted 21st century policing practices.
Officer, Public Safety Performance Project
Pew Charitable Trusts
Washington, DC
04.2015 - 06.2016
- Researched and analyzed policies, operational, and budget data from states sentencing and corrections systems to develop innovative solutions to increase effectiveness, reduce recidivism, lessen racial disparities, and reinvest cost-savings into community based safety solutions.
- Partnered with state and local legislative leaders, national organizations, and research institutes to draft and advance legislation and policy changes for court-imposed sentences, implementation of court diversion programs, reduction of state spending on corrections, and reduce recidivism through proposed policies of the national Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
Deputy Director
North Carolina Sheriffs' Association
Raleigh, NC
12.2009 - 03.2014
- Led a team of managers, subject matter experts, and administrative staff that designed curriculum and conducted training classes for law enforcement professionals on topics including gun safety, immigration, traffic safety enforcement, civil process, juvenile justice, court security, community corrections, and crime victims' rights.
- Served as an organizational representative for the states' sheriffs before the North Carolina General Assembly and the Department of Public Safety; advocated for public safety legislation, policing resources, officer wellness, community-based safety solutions, and coordinated local law enforcement's implementation of the state's Justice Reinvestment Act.
- Developed and managed the Statewide Misdemeanant Confinement Program (SMCP) helping to reduce state spending on prisons, reduce recidivism, enhance community corrections solutions, and connect returning citizens to community resources and support services.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Criminal Justice
North Carolina Central University
Durham, NC 09.1999 - 05.2003
High School Diploma -
Bishop McNamara High School
Forestville, MD 09.1995 - 06.1999
Skills
Community policing strategies
undefinedTimeline
Senior Director, Everytown Survivor Network
Everytown For Gun Safety
04.2021 - Current
Deputy Director
Nat'l Org. Of Black Law Enforcement Executives
07.2019 - 04.2021
Supervisory Program Specialist (GS-15)
USDOJ COPS Office
06.2016 - 07.2019
Officer, Public Safety Performance Project
Pew Charitable Trusts
04.2015 - 06.2016
Deputy Director
North Carolina Sheriffs' Association
12.2009 - 03.2014
Bachelor of Science - Criminal Justice
North Carolina Central University
09.1999 - 05.2003
High School Diploma -
Bishop McNamara High School
09.1995 - 06.1999
Community Involvement and Affiliations
- Police Accountability Board, Prince George's County, MD 2022
- AK Foundation, Board of Directors, 2022
- Citizen Advisory Board (Vice Chair), St. Mary's Co. Sheriff's Office 2008-09
- Citizen Academy, St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office, 2008
- Solid Waste Advisory Board (Chair), St Mary's County, MD, 2008-2010
- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
- Upper Marlboro/ Waldorf (MD) Alumni, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
- Parent Teacher Organization, Phyllis E. Williams Spanish Immersion School
- Fathers Auxiliary, Prince George's Co. Jack and Jill of America
- Black Men Run - Metro Washington DC Chapter
- Metro DC NC Central University Alumni Association
Certifications and Skills
- General Instructor, NC Sheriffs Education and Training Standards
- Federal Grants Management, US Department of Justice
- Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)
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