Beginning January 2025, Eileen M. Garry has led the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in an acting capacity. Acting Administrator Garry has 30 years of leadership at the Department of Justice, previously serving as OJJDP’s Acting Administrator from January 2017 to January 2018.
Acting Administrator Garry has served as the Director of Special Projects in the Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP’s) Office of the Assistant Attorney General since May 2018. She has also served as the Assistant Attorney General’s Senior Advisor on both juvenile justice and Tribal issues. She has provided expert advice and guidance to the Justice Department’s senior leadership on potential opportunities, challenges, and messaging, based on her knowledge of emerging youth justice and Tribal issues. She has been the point of contact for external communications around these issues, educating external partners on OJP’s priorities and resources, and leading cross-departmental initiatives and outreach. In addition, Acting Administrator Garry concurrently served as an Executive Advisor to the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children. Created in 2016 by bipartisan legislation, the commission was tasked with studying funding and programs that support Native youth and making recommendations to improve those efforts to help Native children thrive.
Acting Administrator Garry first joined OJJDP in 1995 as Director of the former Information Dissemination and Planning Division. She joined OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in September 2001. She served BJA for 15 years, first as Director of the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, where her responsibilities included managing the processing of death and education benefits for public safety officers killed or injured at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. She also coordinated the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Program and the Counter-Terrorism Training Work Group. After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, she was actively engaged in criminal justice infrastructure recovery and relief efforts in the Gulf region.
In 2005, Acting Administrator Garry became Deputy Director of BJA, responsible for overseeing general operations and management. She administered the budget formulation and execution processes, legislative affairs, performance measurement and evaluation, planning, communications, and Tribal affairs. She also administered and coordinated BJA's grant programs and served as the bureau's direct line of communication to states, territories, and Tribal governments. From 2012 to 2014, she concurrently served as Deputy Executive Director for the Indian Law and Order Commission. She was instrumental in the development of the Commission's final report, A Roadmap for Making Native America Safer. She returned to OJJDP in October 2016 as Deputy Administrator, overseeing OJJDP’s state, local, and Tribal programs and activities around child protection.
Acting Administrator Garry has received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award three times, most recently in 2024 for Dedicated Service. In 2006, she became a member of the Senior Executive Service, the highest-level appointment for career civil servants. She is the author of more than 20 publications on criminal and juvenile justice issues. She holds a Master's Degree in the Administration of Justice and a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, with honors, both from American University in Washington, DC.