City Hall, NY – New York City Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams announced today that Mandela Jones will join her team as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications. Jones brings more than a decade of public service, inside and outside of government, to the Speaker’s office. Most recently, he was the Chief Communications Officer at Alliance for Safety and Justice, one of the nation’s largest criminal justice advocacy organizations that works on public safety legislation and policy in eight of the country’s biggest states by elevating underserved crime survivors as stakeholders. It marks a return to the Council for Mandela, who worked under former Brooklyn Council Member Al Vann from 2006 to 2012. 

Jones said: “I am excited to be joining Speaker Adams’ office and this historically representative Council as we work to emerge from this COVID-19 pandemic, address the various long-standing issues it highlighted, and improve the lives of New Yorkers in every neighborhood of our city. Throughout my career, I have been committed to winning equity, safety and justice for all – whether through public policy campaigns for economic justice to those that advance police accountability or change criminal justice policies to deliver real safety. It’s an honor to work for New York City’s first Black City Council Speaker and to return to the Council, which helped raise me professionally. I’m looking forward to supporting our talented communications team to help the Speaker and Council represent all New Yorkers and move the city forward.” 

Speaker Adams said: “Mandela has an impressive career as a strategic communications leader in the public interest arena, and his diverse experiences and record of success on difficult public policy campaigns will be an immense asset to the City Council. His strength in collaborating, grasp of policy-oriented communications, and familiarity with the Council make him a great fit and benefit for our team. He shares the deep commitment to public service that is an essential value for my administration, and I know he will work tirelessly on behalf of the Council to improve New York City.” 

About Mandela Jones: 

Before returning to the Council, Mandela served as the Chief Communications Officer at Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ), a national criminal justice advocacy organization where he expanded and led the organization’s communications department to help advance policy changes in several large states. Prior to ASJ, Mandela was the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at police accountability campaign, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR). At CPR, he helped to develop and lead coordinated communications campaigns that elevated impacted New Yorkers, including those leading to the authorization of New York State’s first-ever special prosecutor for police killings of civilians and passage of the Right to Know Act in the City Council. Mandela also previously worked in the New York Public Affairs practice of BerlinRosen, where he helped issue advocacy campaigns, including those focused on economic justice for low-wage workers, successful efforts to ban hydraulic fracturing in New York, and changes to state law ensuring children are treated in more age-appropriate ways by the criminal justice system. While at BerlinRosen, he also helped CPR shift public opinion in support of reforming stop-and-frisk to pass the Community Safety Act in New York City. Mandela previously served as the Budget & Communications Director for New York City Council Member Al Vann, who represented the 36^th District (Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights). He holds an M.P.A. from NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a B.A. from Colorado College, and lives in Brooklyn. 

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