On January 1, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman to the SJI Board of Directors. Chief Judge Lippman was nominated by the President on May 24, 2012. He is currently Chief Judge of the State of New York and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, a position he has held since 2009.

Chief Judge Lippman has spent his entire legal career in the New York State court system, serving for 40 years in a variety of roles. He was Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Department from 2007 to 2009; an Associate Justice of the Appellate Term for the Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts from 2006 to 2007; a Justice of the Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District from 2006 to 2009; and Chief Administrative Judge of all New York State Courts from 1996 to 2007. Chief Judge Lippman is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices, former President of the Conference of State Court Administrators, and former Vice Chair of the Board of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, which the NCSC awarded to him in 2008.

He holds a B.A. from New York University in Government and International Relations and a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.