Jennifer Brinkman brings her expertise in working in the field of violence against women to the Department of Finance and Administration, Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OCJP), with over twenty years of professional experience working in the criminal justice field. As the Director of OCJP, she is responsible for over $60 million in federal and state funds for criminal justice initiatives. Director Brinkman has been with the state for over nine years. Jennifer started at OCJP as Governor Haslam’s first Public Safety Action Plan was underway, which focused on violent crime and domestic violence.

Director Brinkman brings her knowledge of the criminal justice system to the plan through the identification of gaps and available resources to meet those gaps by coordinating local government, state government, and community agencies across the state to leverage available resources to better serve the citizens of Tennessee. In her time at OCJP, Director Brinkman has been responsible for implementing Governor Haslam’s Public Safety initiatives to decrease domestic violence in the state.

Director Brinkman's work includes: increasing the number of family justice centers from 2 in 2012 to nine in 2018; implementing a statewide lethality assessment program with law enforcement; and coordinating statewide stakeholder meetings on violence against women. Before coming to OCJP, Director Brinkman worked for 2 years for the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole where she implemented evidence based programming for offenders under the supervision of the Board. Director Brinkman's work in multiple levels of the criminal justice system demonstrates her commitment to improving outcomes for offenders and victims. Director Brinkman's past work experience includes the YWCA of Nashville and the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.