Roy L. Austin, Jr.

Roy joined Meta from the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, where he was a partner specializing in criminal defense and civil rights law. He offers over 25 years of experience working as both a civil rights lawyer and advocate, having begun his career as an honors trial attorney with the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice. He spent many years in the federal government in several prominent roles, including as a Senior Assistant US Attorney in the Civil Rights Unit of the DC US Attorney’s Office and as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division from 2010 to 2014.

From 2014 to 2017, Roy worked on the White House Domestic Policy Council as Deputy Assistant to the President for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity. In this position, Roy co-authored a report on Big Data and Civil Rights, worked with President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, helped develop the Police Data Initiative and was a member of the president’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force.