Commencement

2024 Commencement Speaker

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez leads one of the nation’s largest, most diverse, and innovative prosecutors’ offices and is making it a national model in redefining the role of a prosecutor.

A Brooklyn native and career prosecutor, Gonzalez made history in 2017 when he became the first Latino ever elected to serve as a district attorney in the state of New York. He was elected on a pledge to lead “the most progressive DA’s office in the country,” and under his leadership, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office has enacted sweeping reforms to improve equity, responsiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness, while engaging communities in unprecedented ways to maintain the trust and confidence of Brooklyn’s 2.6 million residents. He was reelected in 2021 with 98.8 percent of the vote.

With more than 25 years of experience as a prosecutor, Gonzalez has personally tried a broad range of crimes, from homicides and sex crimes to fraud and bias-motivated violence. Guided by his extensive experience working with victims and those accused of crimes, and informed by social science and data, he has built a culture of innovation, embracing groundbreaking new initiatives to improve public safety and strengthen community trust. This approach seeks to reduce prosecutors’ reliance on incarceration while seeking accountability, preventing recidivism, and addressing the root causes of crime.

During his tenure, crime in Brooklyn reached record lows, and as violence increased nationwide in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gonzalez has dedicated unprecedented resources to launch a comprehensive anti-violence strategy. By engaging specially trained experts, utilizing new technologies, and leveraging intelligence to surgically focus enforcement efforts on the drivers of crime who are responsible for a disproportionate share of violence, Brooklyn saw a significant reduction in shootings and homicides in 2021 and progress is continuing this year.

Mindful that safety and justice objectives are often best met by affording those who have committed minor offenses a second chance, Gonzalez has created special programs to help young people, individuals with substance abuse disorders, and those who commit crimes out of desperation. These evidence-based programs match individuals accused of crimes with the help and support they need to lead healthy and law-abiding lives.

Gonzalez grew up in East New York and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and attended John Dewey High School in Coney Island. He graduated from Cornell University in 1992 with a dual-major bachelor’s degree in government and history. In 1995, he received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was president of the Latino Law Students Association.

Prior to his election, DA Gonzalez served as Chief Assistant District Attorney to the late DA Kenneth P. Thompson, where he guided the launch of the office’s Conviction Review Unit, widely recognized as a national model. DA Gonzalez built on this work with the creation of a comprehensive, first-in-the-nation Post-Conviction Justice Bureau.

He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three sons.