Kristen Mahoney, JD

Kristen Mahoney is the Director of Policy, Government, and Partner Engagement at the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab and Education Labs. In this role, she focuses on designing, testing, and scaling data-driven innovations to address America’s gun violence crisis.  Kristen previously served as the Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) where she managed an annual budget exceeding $1.2 billion. At BJA, she led investments in public safety across local, state, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions—advancing funding, training, technical assistance, and policy development to improve justice system outcomes nationwide.  Before her federal service, Kristen was Executive Director of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention, where she spearheaded statewide strategies to enhance public safety, reduce crime and juvenile delinquency, and support victims of crime. She also held leadership roles in Baltimore city government, serving as Chief of Technical Services for the Baltimore Police Department and as Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.