Jayné J. Johnson, Esq. serves as the inaugural Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (Office of Equity) in the Office of the New Jersey Governor.
Before joining the Governor’s Office, Jayné served as Senior Policy Analyst at The Council of State Governments, Justice Center where she gave strategic direction in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) policies and in developing program designs for DEIB measures. As part of the national Justice Reinvestment effort, she led work to address inequities in state probation systems, including the lack of uniformity in local administration and the overrepresentation of Black and other people of color in the criminal justice system.
As Senior Counsel at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Jayné championed workforce systems and housing reforms aimed at closing the racial wealth gap in New Jersey. She also advocated for redress of systemic housing barriers in the report, Erasing New Jersey’s Red Lines.
Previously, as an attorney with Legal Services of New Jersey, Jayné represented survivors of natural disasters in consumer and housing law matters and in claims for recoupment of state and federal disaster relief funds.
Prior to this work, Jayné served as Counsel to the New Jersey Law Revision Commission, which is tasked with recommending legislation to clarify and update existing state statutes. She drafted legislative proposals involving several state provisions including the Anti-Eviction Act, the Notaries Public Act, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Jayné led proposals that were later enacted to remove pejorative terms regarding persons with disabilities and persons with substance use disorders from state statutes.
Jayné is a licensed New Jersey attorney, receiving her JD from Rutgers University Law School in Newark, New Jersey, and a BA in international studies from Oakwood University, a historically Black university in Huntsville, Alabama. She enjoys spending time with family and finding new outdoor adventures.
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