Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson is a lifelong Trenton native and champion for equity, opportunity, and progress. A first-generation college graduate, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Sociology from The College of New Jersey and a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University.

​

Service is in her DNA. The daughter of a Vietnam War veteran father who worked for the Department of Labor, ensuring veterans were taken care of, and a mother who was a civil service worker rising from clerk typist to the senior clerk typist in the Attorney General's office, Verlina learned early that no matter what job you get, you do the best of your ability.

​

Her career began in social work—helping families navigate real challenges—and evolved into a life of public service driven by personal experience. When her nephews faced learning challenges, she saw firsthand how families fall through the cracks, even with resources and connections. She asked herself: if she struggled to navigate the system, how does the average person do it? That question became her mission.

​

As Trenton's first African American woman elected East Ward Councilwoman and later Council Vice President, Verlina led efforts to strengthen neighborhoods and expand access to opportunity. She learned the system by sitting in union meetings, got bold enough to stand at the podium, and began advocating for the resources her city needed.

​

Elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 2018, she is now serving her fourth term representing the 15th Legislative District. In Trenton, Verlina has become a respected senior leader, serving as Constituent Outreach Chair, Chair of the Education Committee, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Schools, and Vice-Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

​

Her legislative accomplishments are both personal and far-reaching. As a prime sponsor of the Child Tax Credit and champion of earned income tax credits, she's putting money back in families' pockets and cutting property taxes for seniors. Living with chronic illness herself, she championed legislation protecting families from medical debt and predatory practices, and fought to end zip-code discrimination in healthcare—legislation born from her own experience being denied in-home physical therapy simply because she lives in Trenton.

​

Her work alongside her colleagues on maternal health has helped move New Jersey to 47th in the nation for maternal mortality, and she secured $72 million for a maternal health and innovation center in Trenton that will bear her name.