Jen is currently serving her second term as Political Affairs Director of the College Democrats of America. She is a recent graduate of The Ohio State University in Political Science and African American Studies. She currently attends the University of Pittsburgh in the Graduate School of Public Health, seeking a master's degree in Health Policy. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Stow, Ohio, she gained her initial political experience in Northeast Ohio working with both the John Kerry Presidential Campaign and Portage County Democratic Party.

 

Jen previously served as a two-term President of the Ohio College Democrats, where she was essential in the planning of the 2006 Turn Around Ohio Invasion which brought in over 80 College Dems from 10 different states the weekend before the election. As President of OCD she planned the first-ever regional meetings in the state, and helped develop a plan to create 100 chapters by the 2008 election. Under her leadership, Ohio won State Federation of the Year at the 2007 CDA National Convention. She also served as the youngest-ever appointed member to the Ohio Democratic Party's Executive Committee, receiving her appointment at the age of 19.

 

Jen also served two terms as National Women's Caucus Chair for the College Democrats of America and was responsible for creating and implementing CDA's first national issue-based campaign, the ABCs of HPV, using the first ever state representative system in a CDA caucus. She also served as National Council Vice Chair, helping to create the state federation data system that was used for the 2008 election cycle. In her first term as Political Affairs Director Jen worked to strengthen the infrastructure of CDA's caucuses and created the program Diversity in Action, a collaborative coalition with CDA's 8 caucuses that approached the very real concept that an injustice to one group, is an injustice to everyone.  

 

In addition to her experience with CDA, Jen has interned with Nationwide Children's Hospital, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, the Ohio House of Representatives, and the AFL-CIO.