Staff: Jennifer Toon
TCDD Policy Fellow
As CTD's Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) policy fellow, Jennifer strives to create state policies that lead to better support for youth and adults with disabilities in the criminal legal system. She also works to help eliminate school practices that punish students for behaviors that are manifestations of disability or trauma. She has studied journalism at U.T. Tyler and The University of Houston.
As a freelance writer she has published work with The Guardian, The Marshall Project, and the Texas Observer.
Jennifer believes that narrative lies at the heart of effective advocacy and aspires to use her lived experience to bring attention to the often-forgotten voices of other system-impacted women, youth, and people with disabilities. She lives in Austin, Texas with her cat Taylor, who embodies the mischievous energy of Taylor Swift.
Boards and committees on which Jennifer serves include:
Advocacy workgroups:
- Education Justice Coalition
- Finish the Five Coalition
- No Kids in Cuffs Coalition
- Statewide Leadership Council Steering Committee
- Women’s Justice Coalition
Advisory Committees:
- Prison and Jail Innovation Lab ADEPT (Advisors with Direct Experience Project Team)
- Texas After Violence Project Community Advisor
- Texas Judicial Committee on Mental Health Collaborative Council
The TCDD Policy Fellowship is supported by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities through a grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Washington, D.C. 20201, with a 100% federal funding award totaling $6,121,860. Council efforts are those of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official views of nor are endorsed by ACL, HHS, or the U.S. government.
