Jasmine L. Tyler
Executive Director, Justice Policy Institute
Jasmine L. Tyler assumed the role of Executive Director at the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) in February 2024, marking the beginning of a dynamic chapter in the organization’s legacy. A seasoned and influential advocate for justice reform, Ms. Tyler brings with her over two decades of profound experience in progressive policy advocacy, executive leadership, and board development – as well as a proven track record of achievement and an exciting vision for the organization’s future.
Ms. Tyler’s advocacy has played pivotal roles in the passage of landmark legislation, such as the federal Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 and the District of Columbia’s Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Amendment Act of 2012. She also helped to repeal the federal syringe exchange funding ban in 2016 and contributed to the passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016.
She’s worked with Congress and the executive branch on a range of federal criminal justice, drug and public health, immigration, and national security policy issues. Ms. Tyler has also engaged in numerous human rights treaty reviews through many United Nations bodies, including the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the most recent UN General Assembly on the World Drug Problem, the Commission to Eliminate Racial Discrimination, and the US Universal Periodic Review.
Throughout her career, Ms. Tyler has worked with several prominent non-profit think tanks and advocacy organizations including Justice Policy Institute, Drug Policy Alliance, Open Society Foundations and Human Rights Watch. As a professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, she instructs graduate students on critical topics, including race within the criminal legal system.
Ms. Tyler grew up visiting her father in prison, developing a keen early understanding of structural oppression in the US. She holds an MA from Brown University and a BS from James Madison University, both in sociology. She serves on boards for Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop and the San Francisco Drug Users Union. She is a member of the Washington, DC-based Phi Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated and is a Lifetime Member of the Girl Scouts.