As Managing Director of Voices for National Service, Jennifer works to position national service as a viable policy solution to tackle unmet needs, expand opportunity and leverage social capital. Jennifer also serves as the Vice President for Public Policy at City Year, an education-focused nonprofit that unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time AmeriCorps service to help address the nation’s high school dropout crisis and turnaround low-performing schools. Jennifer oversees the congressional engagement strategies for Voices for National Service and City Year, and is responsible for maintaining current knowledge of national service legislation and directing policy initiatives that expand and strengthen the nation’s volunteer sector. Jennifer provided technical support to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce throughout the development of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009. She successfully negotiated new provisions authorized in the bill, which outlined the largest expansion of national service in America since President Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, Jennifer’s employment history includes nearly a decade on Capitol Hill, where she worked for United States Senator Charles Robb (VA) and helped to pass federal legislation protecting the rights of minority farmers. She also directed the senator’s scheduling and advance operation, and coordinated his public appearances during the Robb for Senate campaign in 2000.