Veronica Akaezuwa is the Policy and Advocacy Director at NJ Appleseed (NJA) where she works with Voter Choice NJ (VCNJ) and leads statewide efforts and local campaigns to reform New Jersey’s voting system through ranked-choice voting.

 

Her strategic leadership alongside the collaborative efforts of NJA, VCNJ, community activists, and partner organizations, has secured backing from numerous town councils for a more fair and inclusive electoral process.

With a career spanning local and state government and the nonprofit and private sectors, Veronica brings over a decade of experience in policy development, government innovation, and data-driven solutions. Her career and education span several issue areas including election law, data privacy, economic and workforce development, affordable housing, corruption and government accountability, infrastructure investment, and healthcare reform. 

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Previously, Veronica was a Director at the NJ State Office of Innovation, where she founded the Data + Policy Team. In that role, she led efforts to make data more accessible and engage residents in decision-making and program design. Veronica developed tools to help the Department of Environmental Protection improve its public record request process, and created data systems to track and support small business growth in New Jersey for the state’s Business First Stop Initiative.

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Before transitioning to the public sector, Veronica worked in the private sector and held management roles at major media companies, NBCUniversal and Turner Broadcasting, where she excelled in research and analytics.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, with a concentration in economic and political development.