Jessica G. Costello

The Honorable Jessica G. Costello, BA ‘06, was appointed on March 29, 2019 by the Governor of Florida to serve as a Hillsborough County Court Judge. She presides over County Civil and Domestic Violence Injunction cases. Shortly after her appointment to the bench, Judge Costello was selected by the Governor and First Lady of Florida to serve as a member of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet, an entity whose mission is to improve the self-sufficiency, safety, economic stability, health and quality of life of all children in Florida. She is a proud mom to son Cameron and wife to husband Shane, a shareholder with a Tampa law firm.

Prior to her judicial appointment, Judge Costello served as an Assistant Statewide Prosecutor with the Florida Attorney General's Office. In this role she managed local, state and federal law enforcement teams in the prosecution of organized crime throughout the state with a focus on counter-terrorism, gangs, human trafficking, drug trafficking and fraud. She has spent the majority of her career in the field of criminal prosecution and tried a significant number of cases to verdict, ranging from misdemeanors to complex multi-defendant criminal matters to capital homicide.

Judge Costello served as a member of Florida's Anti-Terrorism Task Force and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force Executive Committee. She also worked with community leaders and nongovernmental organizations to engage and inform the public about issues related to crime in the community.

Named Florida's Gang Prosecutor of the Year in 2015, Judge Costello was selected as a Top Government Attorney by Florida Trend from 2014-2019, and was inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Journal's 'Up and Comers' Hall of Fame in 2016. She was named a 'Woman of Color Leading Change' by the YWCA of Tampa Bay in 2017, received the University of Florida's Outstanding Young Alumni award in 2018 and in 2020 was recognized for her leadership and service as an Honorary Inductee into Florida Blue Key. In 2021, the Florida Assoc. of Women Lawyers named her a ‘Leader in the Law’ and in January 2022 the Hillsborough County Bar Association named Judge Costello ‘Outstanding Jurist of the Year’.

Jessica currently lives in Tampa, FL and is serving her second term on the UFAA Board of Directors; her term expires 6/30/2025.

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