Penny Brown Reynolds

Penny Brown Reynolds, Ph.D. is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Management and Operations, in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. Through this appointment, Dr. Brown Reynolds provides executive leadership and oversight for all internal general operations, operational decision-making, organizational change management, employment and program complaint processing for the Department, including the related collection, evaluation, adjudication, and investigative process, as well as performance management for managing the performance of the career SES leadership, including the Associate Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, the Executive Director for the Center for Civil Rights Operations and the Executive Director of the Center for Civil Rights, employee leadership development, special emphasis, and liaising with agency Civil Rights Directors. In addition, Dr. Brown Reynolds works in collaboration with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Policy, and External Engagement to develop the OASCR strategic priorities and goals.

Dr. Brown Reynolds has dedicated nearly 30 years to the law, public service, civil rights, and justice through her work as Executive Counsel to Georgia’s Governor and Chief of Staff and Executive Counsel to Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor. Her distinguished career in law has included serving for nearly a decade as a state trial court judge, serving as a Georgia State Assistant Attorney General, Assistant District Attorney and a judicial clerk for the Georgia Court of Appeals. She is a practicing attorney, a registered mediator and is a member of numerous bar associations.

With service in all three branches of government, Dr. Brown Reynolds has extensive senior management experience overseeing large departments. She has served as a Chief Legal Officer, Chief of Staff, Senior Policy Advisor on a wide array of issues. In 2019, Dr. Brown Reynolds received a dual appointment with the University System of Georgia where she served as an adjunct university professor at Georgia State University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, where she was named Instructor of the Year. She is one of the nation’s preeminent experts and scholars in criminal justice, civil rights, and organizational change management.

Dr. Brown Reynolds holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Nova Southeastern University, Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law, a master’s degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University. She has completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard Kennedy School.