ASHLEIGH OWENS

As the District Attorney’s second-in-command, she oversees all legal and non-legal staff, managing the daily operations of a 250-person office that prosecutes all criminal cases in Staten Island while advancing strategic initiatives that ensure the fair, equitable, and effective administration of justice.

Over nearly a decade with RCDA, Owens has played an integral role in transforming the office into a modern, community-centered institution. She has overseen a period of unprecedented growth—expanding the office from 100 to 250 staff members and increasing its budget by more than 200 percent—while spearheading efforts to enhance technology, infrastructure, and personnel development. Under her leadership, RCDA has launched numerous new bureaus and units designed to strengthen public safety, expand prosecutorial expertise, and improve outcomes for victims and communities alike. These include the Domestic Violence Bureau, Economic Crimes Bureau, Conviction Integrity Review Unit, Cybercrimes Unit, Elder Abuse Unit, Hate Crimes Unit, Immigrant Affairs Unit, Animal Cruelty Unit, Public Corruption Unit, and the Alternatives to Incarceration Unit, among many others.

A hallmark of Owens’ tenure has been her leadership in developing and expanding programs that reflect a more modern, compassionate, and community-driven approach to justice—most notably the Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education (HOPE) initiative, which she helped design and launch in 2017. Created in partnership with law enforcement, public health experts, and community organizations, HOPE diverts individuals charged with low-level drug offenses into community-based treatment and recovery services before arraignment, rather than sending them through the traditional criminal process. The initiative and its offshoot programs, including Ripples of HOPE, have connected hundreds of Staten Islanders to care and contributed to the borough’s dramatic 50% decline in overdose deaths between 2023 and 2024—the largest reduction in New York City.

In addition to her policy and programmatic work, Owens has led the office’s Community Partnerships Unit, deepening engagement with Staten Island’s diverse neighborhoods, faith groups, and advocacy organizations. Through these efforts, she has helped build trust between law enforcement and the community, expanding crime prevention and quality-of-life initiatives that make the office more accessible and responsive to the people it serves.

Owens has also been a driving force in the office’s legislative and advocacy work. She played a key leadership role in building the statewide coalition that successfully advanced critical reforms to New York’s discovery laws in early 2025, ensuring that prosecutors could once again deliver justice efficiently while maintaining transparency and fairness. Her efforts, under the leadership of DA McMahon and in concert with partners across the state, have been credited with improving case outcomes and reducing crime.

Before joining RCDA, Owens built a distinguished career in government and politics. She began her professional life on the 2006 U.S. Senate campaign of James Webb of Virginia, later serving on his Capitol Hill staff, where she worked on veterans’ affairs, homeland security, and judicial nominations—including the landmark Post-9/11 GI Bill expansion. She later served as Chief of Staff to the Chair of the New York City Council Finance Committee, where she negotiated city budgets and led recovery and rebuilding efforts following Superstorm Sandy. Her earlier work also includes senior leadership roles on numerous political campaigns across the country, where she managed operations, budgets, and strategic initiatives.

A passionate advocate for justice, fairness, and victims, Owens’ scholarship has also contributed to the broader legal community. Her article, “Confronting the Challenges of Domestic Violence Sentencing Policy: A Review of the Increasingly Global Use of Batterer Intervention Programs,” was published in the Fordham International Law Journal and has been cited by scholars and government agencies worldwide.

Owens earned her bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from the University of Virginia and her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Fordham International Law Journal and was a member of the Brendan Moore Trial Advocacy Team. She clerked for the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and for the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. Owens received the Fordham Alumni Association Medal in Constitutional Law, awarded to the top student in her graduating class.

She resides in Staten Island’s West Brighton neighborhood with her beloved goldendoodle, Nellie.