A Dialogue with Jayné Johnson, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Jayné J. Johnson, Esq. serves as the Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (Office of Equity) in the Office of the New Jersey Governor. The Office of Equity is charged with promoting internal diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) measures, ensuring that equity considerations are embedded in state policy decisions, and coordinating this work across state government. The Office of Equity seeks to increase the engagement of historically underrepresented groups in government to build a more equitable, stronger, and fairer New Jersey for generations to come.

Before joining the Governor’s Office, Jayné Johnson served as Senior Policy Analyst at The Council of State Governments, Justice Center where she gave strategic direction in advancing internal DEIB policies and in developing the program design for external DEIB measures. Prior to this work, Jayné Johnson served as Senior Counsel at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice where she championed workforce systems and housing reforms aimed at closing the racial wealth gap in New Jersey. She 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 Johnson represented survivors of natural disasters in consumer and housing law matters and in claims for recoupment of state and federal disaster relief funds. Jayné Johnson also served as Counsel to the New Jersey Law Revision Commission which is tasked with recommending legislation to clarify and update existing state statutes.

As part of her LLM degree program at The George Washington University Law School, Jayné Johnson developed a guidance document for policymakers in state and local governments to advance equitable investment of federal funding in underserved communities.

Jayné Johnson is a licensed New Jersey attorney. She earned her JD from Rutgers University Law School in Newark, New Jersey, and a BA in International Studies from Oakwood University.