Andrea Kersten, Chief Administrator

Andrea Kersten currently leads the Civilian Office of Police Accountability as the Chief Administrator. Kersten has been an integral part of COPA’s leadership team and a leading voice on the issue of civilian oversight in Chicago for the last five years. Kersten began her work at COPA in the legal department serving as the Chief Investigative Law Officer. From there Kersten assumed the role of Deputy Chief Administrator assigned to Investigations and ultimately went on to lead the entire investigative unit as the Chief of Investigative Operations. Kersten has been instrumental in the formation of COPA’s Special Victims Unit, a group of specialized investigators dedicated to victims of sexual assault, sexual abuse, or domestic violence. In response to widespread protests in 2020, Kersten was tapped to form COPA’s Protest/Civil Unrest Unit, a specialized squad uniquely organized to receive, review and triage mass protest-related complaints.

Kersten brings a career of public service experience to the agency, having previously served as a domestic violence advocate, an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County, and an Administrative Law Judge for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Kersten also serves on the board of The Tripp Healy Foundation which supports student athletes in the greater Chicagoland area. Kersten received her J.D. from the John Marshall Law School and her B.A. in Sociology from North Park University.

Ephraim Eaddy, First Deputy Chief Administrator

Ephraim Eaddy was born and raised in the city of Chicago and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a B.A. degree in Journalism where he also played Division 1 basketball (Team Captain).

After completing his college experience, Ephraim returned to Chicago and began his grassroots efforts as Director of Community Programs for the People’s Community Development Association of Chicago (PCDAC) developing job training programs, case management strategies and employment opportunities for hard to employ residents of the city of Chicago.

In 2004 he began working with the Safer Foundation, one of the largest non-profit organizations in the country exclusively serving people with criminal records, as Manager of Faith & Community Programs. While at Safer Foundation he provided oversight of the Ready4Work Prisoner Re-entry Initiative, a national model funded by the United States Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

Ephraim began working for Chicago Public Schools in 2011, the third largest school district in the country, where he provided direction to over 150 faith and community-based organizations impacting thousands of children and families around the city on behalf of the district.

Previously, Ephraim Eaddy served as the Public Information Officer and Chief Spokesperson for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) with direct oversight over public and news affairs as well as community engagement. As First Deputy, Ephraim will also serve as Chief of Communications and External Affairs and is committed to building trust in civilian police oversight.

Jay Westensee, Chief of Staff

Jay Westensee is an attorney with extensive investigative experience focused on advancing accountability, efficiency, and integrity within local government. Prior to joining COPA’s predecessor agency in early 2016, Westensee served as a Chief Investigator with the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. From 2005 to 2015, Westensee investigated administrative and criminal allegations of misconduct, waste, and inefficiency by City of Chicago employees, contractors, and subcontractors, as well as supervised and collaborated with staff to develop investigative strategy and ensure timely completion of investigative matters. Westensee served as a member of the leadership team responsible for planning and launching COPA in 2017. Westensee has been instrumental in efforts to enhance COPA’s complaint registration systems and intake operations, as well as development and management of key processes related to COPA’s public release of video and other records capturing the City’s most critical incidents involving police officers.

As Chief of Staff, Westensee determines agency strategies and oversees COPA’s infrastructure and operations, as well as ensures financial, staffing, information system and facility needs are met. Westensee also oversees development of internal policy, as well as training and professional development efforts.

Westensee holds a B.S. in Justice Systems from Truman State University, an M.A. in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University, and a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.

Robin Murphy, General Counsel

Robin brings over 12 years of broad legal and management experience within the public safety and criminal justice sectors to his role as General Counsel of COPA. He started at COPA in 2020 as Assistant General Counsel, where he provided senior-level legal and operational direction in several critical areas, including managing COPA’s compliance with the city’s Consent Decree. He previously served in a variety of leadership roles at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, including Acting General Counsel and Chief of Staff. Robin also prosecuted financial crime state-wide as an Assistant Attorney General and gained trial and appellate expertise as a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney. He began his legal career in Washington, D.C. as a law clerk to Superior Court Senior Judge Leonard Braman. Robin received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his law degree from American University, Washington College of Law. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law.

Angela Hearts-Glass, Deputy Chief Administrator

Angela Hearts-Glass has 23 years of law enforcement experience in police practices, senior law enforcement experience overseeing patrol, major criminal investigations, and internal affairs.  Hearts-Glass retired from City of Evanston Police Department at the rank of Commander she spent the majority her career in the Investigations Division as a Detective of Juvenile and Criminal Investigations.  Hearts-Glass is a graduate of Northwestern’s School of Police Staff and Command (class 266) at Northwestern University Center for Public Safety.  Upon retirement Hearts-Glass became  Director of Safety and  Security for Malcolm X College,  managing the operations of two campuses.  Hearts-Glass is knowledgeable in policy development, training, community development and mediation.  Hearts-Glass joined COPA initially as the Director of Quality Management. Hearts-Glass has received special training in Cold Case Analysis, Taser Use of Force, Child Abuse & Sex Abuse and a host of other investigative matters.  Hearts-Glass holds a Bachelor’s of Psychology  and Master’s of Public Administration from Roosevelt University.

Sharday Jackson, Deputy Chief Administrator

Sharday Jackson brings over 11 years of investigatory and legal experience to COPA. Previously she served as COPA’s Supervising Investigator to its Special Victims Squad, a specialized unit focused on investigating allegations of officer perpetuated domestic and sexual misconduct. Before her time leading the Special Victims Squad, Ms. Jackson worked briefly as a Supervising Investigator overseeing general investigations.

In advance of her time at COPA, Ms. Jackson served in a variety of roles in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office including initially conducting policy research and later as an Assistant State’s Attorney working in the following divisions: Criminal Appeals, Sexual Assault Domestic Violence, Felony Review, Juvenile Justice, and Preliminary Hearings.

Sharday brings over a decade of experience in the areas of domestic and sexual misconduct, giving numerous presentations on trauma-informed interview techniques and other best practices. Sharday is a graduate of Howard University and in 2012 received her Juris Doctorate from The John Marshall Law School.

Justin Escamilla, Deputy Chief Administrator

Justin brings over 7 years of applied research and program evaluation experience within the public safety and criminal justice sectors to his role at COPA. He started at COPA in 2022 as Deputy Chief Administrator of the Policy, Research, and Analysis Division, where he provides senior-level research, analysis and policy direction in identifying patterns of misconduct, practices that contribute to it, and recommendations to reduce it.

He previously served in a leadership role within the research unit of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority leading a team of researchers in developing processes, methods, and reports that analyzed criminal justice and community data on violence and disadvantage, evaluated the implementation and impact of community programs, and supported data-driven decision-making about grants. Prior to that, Justin contributed to local and national police research efforts on trust and legitimacy as a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Justin received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and his doctorate in Criminology, Law, and Justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago.