1 ___________________________
2 Chairman Phil Mendelson
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6 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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8 _________________________
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11 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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13 _________________________
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16 To appoint Ms. Petrina Jones-Jesz as the Ombudsperson for Children.
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18 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
19 resolution may be cited as the “Ombudsperson for Children Petrina Jones-Jesz Appointment
20 Resolution of 2023”.
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22 Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia appoints:
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24 Ms. Petrina Jones-Jesz
25 N Street, NW
26 Washington, DC 20037
27 (Ward 2)
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29 as the Ombudsperson for Children, pursuant to section 102 of the Office of the Ombudsperson for
30 Children Establishment Amendment Act of 2020, effective April 5, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-270; D.C
31 Official Code § 4-671.02), as an Excepted Service employee, Grade 10 (ES-10), to serve for a term
32 ending 5 years after the effective date of this resolution.
33 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
34 upon its adoption, to the appointee and to the Office of the Mayor.
35 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
 Petrina Jones-Jesz
Summary of Qualifications
• Over 15 years of leadership experience and oversight responsibilities.
• Applied project management approaches to support department initiatives and facilitated cross
functional teams on various projects.
• Developed grant proposals, grant administration and technical writing experience.
• Launched the Franklin Covey’s Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX) process to implement
organizational goals and creating a cadence of accountability culture.
• Launched performance dashboards that support data driven decision making, accountability, and
performance improvement, including change management responsibilities.
• Provided leadership to the establishment of a new Ombudsperson’s office.
Employment History
Acting Ombudsperson 2023-Present
Office of the Ombudsperson for Children
Washington, DC
• Provide leadership and direction to the new Office of the Ombudsperson for Children including
recruitment and hiring of staff, budget and spending, implementation of policy and procedures,
and other administrative duties.
• Establish the agency’s structure; identify and implement administrative needs for the new agency.
• Communicate and collaborate with local community organizations, government agencies, and top
administration officials to resolve concerns with the child welfare system and support the
performance improvement process.
• Hold community roundtables. The first roundtable focused on Kinship care.
• Receive and resolve constituent complaints submitted to the Office of the Ombudsperson for
Children from youth, foster parents, biological parents, caregivers, and other concerned citizens.
• Coordinate the creation of written reports, such as the Office’s annual report and data analysis on
crossover youth.
Chief Deputy Ombudsperson 2022-Present
Office of the Ombudsperson for Children
Washington, DC
• Assist the Ombudsperson with the establishment of the Office of Ombudsperson for Children;
make recommendations for budget and spending, staffing and organizational structure.
• Make recommendations and develop draft policy and procedures for the Office.
• Work with the Ombudsperson and key stakeholders in the district child welfare system in the
development of recommendations for addressing identified systemic issues.
• Educate diverse constituencies and organizations about the Office, conduct community outreach.
• Receive complaints submitted to the Office electronically or in person and initiate resolution
strategies, communicate with constituents, and conduct administrative investigations.
• Monitor system performance and prepare written reports.
• Assist with planning and coordination of projects, such as the development of the Office’s
electronic database system.
Program Manager/Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) State Lead 2018-2022
Department of Children’s Services (DCS)
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State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• Coordinate the development and monitor the implementation of the department’s Child and
Family Services Review (CFSR) Program Improvement Plan (PIP).
• Support the development and implementation of the Child and Family Service Plan (CFSP).
• Conduct regional case reviews using the CFSR review tool.
• Mentor Team Leaders and middle managers on supervision, and best practice.
• Manage the CBCAP program for the state by monitoring funding and contracts, facilitating
meetings with CBCAP partners, and supporting child abuse prevention program efforts.
• Manage Therapeutic Family Preservation services by facilitating regional family preservation
teams and supporting the program.
• Provide support to the state’s Children Trust fund.
Assistant Commissioner 2017-2018
Department of Human Services (DHS)
State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• Managed the performance management, centralized policy development, quality management,
and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) quality control units.
• Leveraged data and analytics used in the Tennessee DHS Accountability process (TDAP) to
facilitate staff performance discussions and enhance staff accountability.
• Served as lead writer for fully funded grants supporting the Summer Food Service, Adult
Protective Services, and SNAP programs.
• Managed the Quality Assurance process, which included case file reviews for the TANF, SNAP,
Vocational Rehabilitation, and Child Nutrition programs.
• Served on the department’s executive leadership team.
Deputy Commissioner and Chief Officer 2015-2017
Organizational Performance and Program Evaluation
Department of Human Services (DHS)
State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• Provided direction, supervision, and programmatic oversight of direct service programs including:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF), Child Care Services, Vocational Rehabilitation, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP),
and Child Support. Responsible for administrative divisions including Appeals & Hearings, and
Quality Improvement & Strategic Solutions (QISS).
• Served as a trusted advisor to the department’s Commissioner and served on the department’s
Executive Leadership team. Provided oversight of program budgets equaling nearly $3 billion.
Assistant Commissioner 2013-2015
Department of Human Services (DHS)
State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• Supervised the performance management, centralized policy development, quality management,
and SNAP quality control units. Served on the department’s executive leadership team.
• Successfully launched the Tennessee DHS Accountability Process (TDAP) as part of the
department’s Performance and Quality Improvement (PQI) system. This strategy leveraged data
and analytics as a means for discussing performance with employees and enhancing staff
accountability.
• Managed the internal review board (IRB) process to review and approve data and research
requests.
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Special Projects Coordinator 2012-2013
Department of Human Services (DHS)
State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• Developed, designed, and implemented initiatives and projects as identified by the DHS
Commissioner, focusing on contract management, Performance and Quality Improvement (PQI),
and policy development and centralization.
• Investigated employment termination appeals and conducted Step 1 Dismissal/termination appeal
hearings as the Commissioner’s designee.
Director of Policy, Planning, and Performance Management 2004-2012
Department of Children’s Services (DCS)
State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
• Collaborated with department leadership, internal and external partners, and staff in the
development of the Brian A. Path to Excellence strategic plan.
• Created reports using qualitative and quantitative data to monitor the implementation of the Brian
A. Path to Excellence strategic plan.
• Served as the department’s point of contact for longitudinal data reports developed by Chapin
Hall at the University of Chicago to assist in monitoring children and family outcomes.
• Developed and submitted the department’s strategic plan required by state government statute.
• Created and distributed reports, analysis, and trained staff on the use of data.
• Managed the development and distribution of department policies, procedures, and forms.
• Directed the development of the department’s mission, vision, values, and strategic domains.
• Prepared and submitted federal reports, such as the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR)
Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP), Title IV-E plan,
and the Annual Progress and Service Review (APSR).
• Provided oversight of the accreditation process and assessed readiness on the PQI Council on
Accreditation standards.
Education Accomplishments Technical Skills
Master of Business Tennessee Commission on Ensured compliance with federal
Administration (MBA) Children and Youth (TCCY), and state programs such as:
Middle Tennessee State Commission Board Member Title IV-E, Title IV-B foster care
University, Murfreesboro, (2014-Present) & adoption standards, Title IV-D
Tennessee Child Support standards,
Lead grant writer for fully funded Human Services program
Master of Education (M.Ed.) grant proposals requirements, and applicable
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee Code Annotated
Tennessee titles.
Bachelor of Arts, Sociology Proficient in MS Word, Excel,
Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio PowerPoint, Outlook, and Visio.
Also, proficient in video
conferencing and SharePoint.
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