Jason Reischel is an award-winning songwriter, educator, and public
servant. Prior to serving in a leadership position for the de Blasio
administration's pioneering Pre-K For All initiative, Jason had a successful
musical career as a solo artist and as the founder and lead singer of the
popular Brooklyn-based band "My Cousin, The Emperor." Jason has
eleven musical releases since 2005, won an Independent Music Award for
Song of the Year in 2009, and his band was declared the Best Band in
Brooklyn by WNYC radio in 2010.
During this time, Jason used his profile to support philanthropic causes
within the community. He has performed in benefit concerts for Broadway
Cares/ Equity Fights Aids, Career Gear (an organization that promotes
economic independence for low-income men), and in the 2012 "Haiti
Matters To Brooklyn" earthquake relief concert. Jason has also donated
music for inclusion on charitable albums for New York Cares, "Poverty is
Real: Athens," and "Poverty is Real: Asheville" in support of the Pisgah
Legal Services to Combat Poverty.
Jason's interest in community service led him to join the de Blasio
administration in 2014 as the Brooklyn Borough Manager for the
Department of Education's Pre-K For All initiative. In this role, Jason has
contributed to the successful creation and implementation of a program
that provides nearly 70,000 families with free, full-day, high-quality Pre-K
throughout the five boroughs.
Jason holds a Bachelor's Degree in History from North Carolina State
University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a Master's Degree in History
from Brooklyn College. His Master's Thesis was entitled "Heading Toward
Super Tuesday: How Innovations in Communication and Technology
Transformed the Democratic Party's Presidential Primaries, 1988-2008." He is currently a History Adjunct at Brooklyn College.
He has served on the Community Board 6 Landmark/Land Use Committee,
and Parks/ Recreation/ Cultural Affairs Committee and on the board of
Service Program for Older People (SPOP), an organization that deals with
the mental health needs of older adults living in New York City. He is a
member of the New Kings Democrats, and serves on the King's County
Democratic Committee. He lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn.