Criminal Justice
Josh Crawford
Shaping Justice, Building Opportunities
Subject Matter Expertise:
Criminal Justice
Re-entry
Juvenile Violence
Crime Reduction
Upward Mobility & Crime
or fill out the form below.
Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives
Josh Crawford
Joshua Crawford is the Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives with the Georgia Center for Opportunity where he leads their public safety and re-entry work. A nationally recognized expert on gang violence reduction, he has testified before local and state legislative committees as well as the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. He is frequently consulted by elected officials and law enforcement agencies on matters of public safety and violent crime reduction.
In January of 2020, his work was the impetus for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky’s Crime Victim’s Summit and the establishment of the Group Violence Intervention strategy in Louisville, Kentucky. He has authored legislation at the state and local level across the country.
His work can be found in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, National Review, and Washington Examiner, along with large city newspapers around the country. He also serves as a policy leader for Public Safety Solutions for America.
In 2018, at the age of 28, he was named to Louisville Business First’s ‘Forty Under 40’ list. That same year he was named a Kentucky Colonel.
Prior Experience
- Young Voices Contributor (2022-2023)
- Executive Director, Pegasus Institute (2019-2022)
- Founder and Director of Criminal Justice Policy, Pegasus Institute (2016-2019)
- Deputy District Attorney, Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office (2015-2016)
- Fellow, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (2015)
- Research Assistant, Massachusetts Bar Association (2013-2015)
- Clerk, Boston Municipal Court Judge Michael Coyne (2013)
Education
Josh has a BS in Crime, Law, and Justice from Penn State University (2012), a JD from Suffolk University Law School (2015), and a MA in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2023).
Community Involvement
- Board Member, Coleman Prep Academy (2023-present)
- Chairman, Christopher 2X Game Changers (2022-present)
- Board Member, Louisville Group Violence Intervention Governance Committee (2022-present)
- Member, AEI Millennial Leadership Network (2021)
- Board Member, Christopher 2X Game Changers (2018-present)
- Member, Leadership Louisville (2018)
- Member, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (present)
- Member, American Society of Criminology (present)
- Member, Federalist Society (present)
OpEds & Commentary
Interviews
Schedule one of our subject matter experts to come and speak or interview on a specific issue that matters to you.
