Cissy Jackson is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, focusing on issues of democracy and government reform.
Before joining American Progress, Jackson served as both counsel and national security adviser to then-Sen. Doug Jones (D) of Alabama. As counsel, she advised the senator on policy, votes, and legislation involving immigration and border security, civil rights, firearms, legal system reform, and judicial nominees. In her role as the senator’s national security adviser, Jackson worked with senior Pentagon leadership and defense industry stakeholders to draft and enact the FY 2020 and FY 2021 National Defense Authorization acts and defense appropriations bills. Among the priorities she successfully pursued were measures to increase support for military families and increase security at military installations. In this role, she also served as the senator’s adviser on matters of national security and foreign policy.
Before joining the senator’s staff, Jackson was in the private practice of law, handling white-collar, False Claims Act, and commercial property tax appeal matters, as well as grand jury investigations.
Jackson received her law degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she was a Patrick Wilson Scholar, a member of the editorial staff of the Vanderbilt Law Review, and a member of the Order of the Coif. She graduated with honors from the University of Virginia with a degree in English and American studies.