Tara H. Jackson is an American lawyer and

public administrator Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

serving as the acting state's attorney of

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

since 2025. She previously served the county as its acting county executive from 2024 to 2025, and as chief administrative officer and as the deputy county attorney for government operations under county executive

Angela Alsobrooks Angela Deneece Alsobrooks (born February 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Maryland. A member of the Democrati ...

Education

Tara H. Jackson earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

. She pursued further studies at the

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law from 1924 to 2011) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it i ...

, where she obtained a J.D. Later, she completed a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

Leadership Development Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of an organization's strategy through building alignmen ...

at the

Phoenix Seminary Phoenix Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Scottsdale, Arizona. History It was founded in 1988 as a branch campus of Western Seminary and became independent in 2004. Academics Phoenix Seminary is accredited ...

Career

Tara H. Jackson began her career in

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

as a line prosecutor in the Maryland State's Attorney's Office, where she was tasked with making discretionary decisions in criminal cases. She then spent eight years in private practice handling criminal, civil, and administrative cases. Returning to public service, Jackson served as principal deputy state's attorney in

, focusing on administrative responsibilities and leadership. Jackson later became deputy county attorney for

government operations Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or ...

, providing legal counsel to government agencies within the county. She subsequently moved to the Office of the County Executive as deputy chief administrative officer (DCAO) for government operations in 2018, overseeing multiple departments and playing a key role in streamlining county operations. In December 2020, Jackson was appointed by county executive

as the chief administrative officer (CAO) for Prince George's County, replacing Major F. Riddick. During her tenure as CAO, she led the county's transition to

remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Maryland in March 2020. The first three cases of the virus were reported in Montgomery County on March 5, 2020. , the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) reported 1,303,829 ...

, established vaccination centers, and managed federal relief funds. Her responsibilities included guiding the county's fiscal policies and developing annual budgets. On December 2, 2024, Jackson became acting county executive following Alsobrooks' resignation to serve in the U.S. Senate. As acting county executive, Jackson has emphasized maintaining government stability and addressing the county’s financial challenges, including a projected $150 million

budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit, the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budg ...

. She also highlighted priorities such as healthcare funding and ensuring efficient

snow removal Snow removal or snow clearing is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done both by individual households and by governments institutions, and commercial businesses. De-icing and anti-icing De-icin ...

and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

. Jackson has publicly stated she does not intend to seek

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

for the permanent county executive role and views her tenure as a transitional period. In June 2025, after state's attorney

Aisha Braveboy Aisha Nazapa Braveboy (born July 29, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the county executive of Prince George's County, Maryland since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she was the state's att ...

was elected as county executive, Jackson was selected by the county's circuit court judges to be acting state's attorney of Prince George's County.

Personal life

Jackson is married to Lawrence Paul Jackson II, and they have one son. She is a member of the First Baptist Church in

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population within the town limits was 652, although Greater Upper ...

and affiliated with

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...

. Additionally, she serves on the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Foundation Schools and is part of the character committee of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Tara 21st-century African-American women 21st-century Maryland politicians 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) African-American people in Maryland politics James Madison University alumni Maryland Democrats Maryland lawyers Phoenix Seminary alumni Prince George's County, Maryland executives University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni Women in Maryland politics