Policy Experts
Meet our team of experienced policy analysts.
Dr. Jonathan Cox
Dr. Jonathan Cox is the Vice President, Center Policy Analysis & Research (CPAR) at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Inc (CBCF). The Vice President will develop world-class public policy and research strategies for the CBCF and the work it undertakes to eliminate disparities in the global Black community. He understands that the African American community is not monolithic and as such, public policy analyses and research should address the diverse interests of this community.
Dr. Jonathan Cox is a public scholar and educator, with 20 years of instructional and administrative experience across public and private K-12 and postsecondary institutions. As a culturally-response leader and mentor, Jonathan works to provide inclusive environments and promotes the development of the whole self as a tool for uplift and liberation.
Prior to joining CBCF, Jonathan was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Central Florida. His research focuses on racial and social inequalities, primarily studying the impacts of racism in the United States. He has published in numerous academic journals on topics related to racial and ethnic identities, racial ideologies, the experiences of college students, diversity and inclusion processes in corporate America, and discrimination and racial disparities in health for Black Americans. Prior to his work as a faculty member, Jonathan worked as the Assistant Director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Wake Forest University. In this role he coordinated and implemented social and inter-cultural programs and events, academic intervention and support initiatives, and student leadership development programs for underrepresented students and the entire university community.
As an engaged public scholar, Jonathan regularly gives invited talks and makes media appearances, providing evidence-based commentary and insights on topics like policing in America, systemic racism, issues of social justice, and educational inequalities. He has served twice at the request of Orange County (Orlando, FL) Mayor Jerry Demings on the Citizens Safety Task Force, most recently as the Chair of the Prosecution Subcommittee, providing recommendations for Orange County social services, law enforcement, and judicial affairs towards reducing gun violence and violent crime. Through this work, Jonathan helped guide policy and funding recommendations that support and fund local grassroots organizations, provide mentoring and community-based programming for youth, create diversion programs, and increase investment in mental and behavioral health for youth and families in the Orlando area. Jonathan also regularly consults with various organizations across public and private sectors, providing expertise related to his research areas. Jonathan is a proud graduate of Hampton University, earning Bachelor of Science dual degrees in Health and Physical Education. He also holds an M.Ed. in college student affairs from the Pennsylvania State University, and an M.A and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park. Jonathan is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the Beta Chi chapter (Hampton University). He enjoys staying active, musical performance, is an amateur chef and foodie, and loves spending time with his wife and daughter.
Olajumoke Obayanju, Esq.
Olajumoke “Jummy” Obayanju is the Director of the National Racial Equity Initiative (NREI) for Social Justice at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF). She oversees and manages the NREI to maximize its visibility and sustainability; ensures the implementation of program objectives and initiatives; and focuses on advancing racial equity, human rights, education, and economic development opportunities for the African American community. Prior to joining CBCF, Jummy was the Racial Justice & Juvenile Defense Fellow at the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative. In this role, she worked to improve the systems D.C. youth encounter through policy reform, developed resources to help juvenile defenders incorporate racial justice arguments into their youth advocacy, and created training materials on strategies to identify and correct racial bias. Upon completing law school, Jummy served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Craig Iscoe in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. A passionate advocate for educational equity, Jummy began her career as a middle school teacher in Charlotte, NC, where she taught 8th grade math and Algebra. Jummy received her B.A. in Communications from Howard University, her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School, and her LL.M in Advocacy from the Georgetown University Law Center. Jummy is a member of the Maryland State Bar and currently serves as Chair of the GW Law Public Interest Advisory Council.
Mercy Ogutu
Mercy Ogutu is the Research Coordinator at the Center for Policy Analysis and Research (CPAR). She is primarily responsible for coordinating, implementing, and assisting with managing CPAR and NREI research initiatives and deliverables. The CPAR initiatives include Voter Engagement, Tech Equity, and Health Equity; NREI initiatives include Criminal Justice, Economic Equity, Education, and Health Equity.
Before joining the CBCF, Mercy interned for former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, and Georgia Representative Hank Johnson, assisting in policy research in voting rights, economic development, criminal justice, public health, and federal housing tax programs analysis. Additionally, Mercy was a research fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation.
In Washington, DC, Mercy has lobbied with bi-partisan groups to provide policy recommendations on immigration, transportation and infrastructure, affordable housing initiatives, and minority small business economic support programs in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Mercy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs with a Minor in Africana Studies from Trinity Washington University (TWU), emphasizing human rights and foreign policy, and an Associate Degree of Applied Science in Network Systems Administration from DeVry University. Mercy is a proud Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society member and the NAACP 7783-B Washington D.C. Youth Council.
Dr. Lauren Pearlman
Dr. Lauren Pearlman is the Research Manager for the Center for Policy Analysis & Research (CPAR) at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Inc (CBCF). Lauren is a scholar and educator with two decades of experience in higher education, legal, and policy arenas. Prior to joining the CBCF, she was an Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida. Her research and teaching examine law and policy’s roles in perpetuating race and gender inequalities and the harmful impact of the carceral state. Her first book, Democracy’s Capital: Black Political Power in Washington, D.C, 1960s-1970s, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2019. Bringing together histories of the carceral and welfare states, as well as the civil rights and Black Power movements, it focuses on local Black activists’ fight for greater participatory democracy and community control in the nation’s capital from the 1960s to the present. Lauren’s work has received a wide range of grant and fellowship support and can be found in the Journal of Urban History, the Journal of African American History, and the Washington Post,among others. At UF, she enjoyed mentoring students in the university’s Reubin Askew Scholars Initiative, an initiative to increase the presence of minority students in public service; advising the undergraduate-run Minority Pre-Legal Society; and serving as a M.A. and Ph.D. advisor for graduate students working on social justice topics. In Gainesville, she received a $30,000 grant to conduct community outreach with diverse stakeholders on issues like prison work camps, affordable housing campaigns, and the campaign to “ban the box” on employment forms.
Lauren began her career assisting attorneys in racial discrimination class action litigation before working for Appleseed, a network of 18 justice centers across the country and in Mexico working to reduce poverty, combat discrimination, and invigorate democracy. There she worked alongside lawyers, policy analysts, and community organizers to craft systemic solutions to local problems. Before working at UF, she served as a postdoctoral fellow in American History and Diversity Studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she led the digital content strategy, storytelling, and editing process for The West Point Guide to the Civil Rights Movement, a digital media primary document reader on the civil rights movement.
Lauren received her M.A. and Ph.D. in African American Studies from Yale University and a B.A. in African American Studies from Wesleyan University. She currently resides in Ellicott City, MD with her husband, two sons, and dog. She enjoys living somewhere with all four seasons again and can usually be found running on the trails and training for her next race.