Jonathon Acosta is a Democrat representing District 16 in the Rhode Island State Senate. Elected to the Senate on November 3, 2020, he previously served on the Central Falls City Council from 2016 to 2020. He serves on the Senate Committee on Special Legislation & Veterans' Affairs and has focused on issues like law enforcement, education, and health care.

Education and Political Experience

Acosta holds a Ph.D. in Sociology, an MA in Sociology, an MA in Urban Education Policy, and a BA in Political Science and Ethnic Studies from Brown University. Before entering politics, he worked as a middle school math teacher in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Central Falls, serving as a Teach for America corps member and later as Dean of Culture at Blackstone Valley Prep Middle School. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, studying migrant incorporation in postindustrial cities.

Notable Achievements and Positions

• Sponsored legislation creating a statewide body-worn camera program for police, signed into law in 2021.
• Introduced the Rishod K. Gore Justice in Policing Act of 2021 for police reforms and a bill to bar private prisons in Rhode Island.
• Sponsored a law authorizing Central Falls to invest nearly $6 million in school repairs and construction.
• Introduced a bill prohibiting discrimination against organ transplant recipients based on physical or mental disability.
• Received the 2015 White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics award and the 2016 Latino Public Radio Community Champion Award.
• Community involvement includes the Central Falls Children's Foundation, Central Falls Juvenile Hearing Board, wrestling coach, and Eagle Scout rank.