We're led by former DOJ officials who employees know and trust
Our team of staff and advisors are trusted leaders in federal law enforcement. We’re former prosecutors, litigators, judges, FBI agents, national security experts, division heads, and communications experts who served in components across DOJ under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Leadership Team
Stacey Young, Founder & Executive Director
Stacey Young was an 18-year DOJ veteran who worked at the Department until January 24, 2025. She served as a Senior Attorney in the Civil Division and later in the Civil Rights Division, working under five presidential administrations and seven Attorneys General.
Stacey founded the DOJ Gender Equality Network in 2016 and served as its president. After intimidation from the current administration, she shut down the organization on the day she left the Department. She and DOJ GEN advocated for policies and practices that made the Department—and the entire federal government—a safer, healthier, and fairer place to work.
Jen Swedish, Deputy Director
Prior to joining Justice Connection, Jen Swedish spent nearly 16 years with the Department of Justice, where she served under four presidential administrations and five Attorneys General. Jen worked as a trial attorney and later as a deputy chief in the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division, where she enforced federal employment discrimination statutes.
Peter Carr, Communications Director
Peter Carr served as a government spokesman for nearly 25 years, with more than 15 at the Justice Department. He has counseled Attorneys General and senior DOJ leadership across multiple administrations and was repeatedly asked to handle some of DOJ’s most high-profile and most sensitive matters. He brings his institutional knowledge and expertise to help his former colleagues through his new role at Justice Connection.
Advisory Committee
Rupa Bhattacharyya spent 20 years in DOJ’s Civil Division—including as the Special Master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the Director of the Office of Constitutional and Specialized Tort Litigation Section, and an attorney in the Federal Programs Branch.
Greg Brower was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada. He also served in various other roles at the Department, including Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs and Deputy General Counsel of the FBI, and Legislative Counsel in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.
Mike Feinberg spent 15 years as a special agent at the FBI focusing on counterintelligence and counterterrorism, leading some of the greatest successes of the first Trump Administration’s efforts against the People’s Republic of China’s intelligence services and their proxies. He was the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Field Office’s national security and intelligence programs when the FBI pushed him out for being friends with an individual who appeared on Director Kash Patel’s enemies list.
Oneshia Herring served nearly a decade in the Department—as a Senior Counsel and Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division, and later as Deputy Director in the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Civil Rights. She also served as Chair of the DOJ Association of Black Attorneys (DOJABA).
Regina Lombardo served as the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from 2019 to 2021. She had a 30-year career at ATF.
Dana Leigh Marks served as an Immigration Judge at DOJ from 1987 to 2021.
David McConnell was an attorney in the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) for 34 of his 40 years in the federal government. He served as OIL’s Director from 2011 until his departure from federal service in February 2025, after the administration ousted him from that role.
Andrew Mergen served as an attorney for 33 years in the Appellate Section of DOJ’s Environment & Natural Resources Division, which he led at the end of his government career.
Jennifer Ricketts served for almost 35 years as an attorney in the Civil Division’s Federal Programs Branch, the majority as its Director.
Jocelyn Samuels was appointed by President Obama to serve in DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in 2009, which she led as Acting Assistant Attorney General from 2013 to 2014. In 2020, President Trump appointed Samuels to a Democratic seat as a Commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She served until January 25, 2025, when President Trump fired her and EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows before the expiration of their terms, leaving the Commission without a quorum.
Fiscal sponsor
Justice Connection is honored to have the Government Accountability Project (GAP) as its fiscal sponsor. GAP is a national, nonpartisan organization that promotes government and corporate accountability by protecting whistleblowers and ensuring their disclosures make a difference. GAP has represented federal government employees for over 45 years (DOJ GEN board members among them), and helped draft, pass, and implement most of the U.S. whistleblower protection laws that exist today.
