Attorney General Josh Shapiro Wednesday announced the creation of a new Office of Public Engagement that will be led by Rob Reed and Pearl Kim, two veteran prosecutors who have a long history of working proactively with the community to address challenges.
The new office combines resources from existing divisions within the Office of Attorney General and will handle all outreach and constituent-related inquiries.
Reed, 62, will serve as Executive Deputy Attorney General for Public Engagement. He served as Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for Outreach in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before joining OAG. Reed was also previously Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division.
Reed is widely known and well regarded by legal, government, community and nonprofit organizations across Pennsylvania. Reed is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, the London School of Economics, and Boston College Law School.
Over the past seven years, Reed has directed an unprecedented violence prevention, prisoner re-entry, and community outreach initiative that has been the model for the United States Department of Justice.
Prior to that, Reed participated in hundreds of federal investigations over more than 30 years teaming up with exceptional agents and prosecutors at the federal, state, and local level. Reed’s prosecutions involved complex investigations resulting in the convictions of numerous defendants with substantial reductions in crime and a corresponding increase in public safety.
For many years, Reed served as the Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator that involved successful efforts to reduce firearms and related gang violence in southeastern Pennsylvania.
“The Attorney General is the one person every Pennsylvanian can call when they’ve been scammed, victimized, or had their rights denied and that’s why we’re launching this office,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “As veteran prosecutors who made deep, positive impacts in the communities they served, Rob’s and Pearl’s relationships and expertise bring instant credibility to this new office and will help us strengthen the trust between law enforcement and the people we serve to improve people’s lives.”
“The Office of Public Engagement will help the Attorney General prevent and solve crime by educating the public and building stronger relationships with people from all communities,” said Executive Deputy Attorney General Reed. “I’m excited to help Attorney General Shapiro have a meaningful, positive impact in communities all across the state in this new role.”
Shapiro also announced that Pearl Kim will join Reed in the Office of Public Engagement, where Kim will serve as Senior Deputy Attorney General for Public Engagement.
Kim, 37, has worked as a prosecutor for nine years with the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, serving as Chief of the Human Trafficking Unit since 2013. Kim also worked in the Special Victims and Domestic Violence division in the DA’s Office.
Ms. Kim served on the Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking, which recommended new state laws, policies, and procedures to fight trafficking. As a prosecutor, Ms. Kim secured the first trafficking of persons conviction under Pennsylvania’s new trafficking statute.
The American Bar Association awarded Ms. Kim the Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award for her efforts as a special victims prosecutor, and she was the recipient of the Government Attorney of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 2015.
Kim serves on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian American Affairs, and the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania.
Kim is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and Villanova University School of Law where she was the recipient of the Villanova Achievement Scholarship.
