A 4th generation Oregonian, Jennifer was raised on a farm in Washington County. She entered the world of advocacy while attending the University of Oregon. Proposed cuts to financial aid, Pell grants and work-study programs threatened to end her academic career before it had really started. Unwilling to let go of her dream of a college education, she became an education activist. That path led her to Washington D.C. to work for Senator Mark O. Hatfield to ensure all Oregonians have access to higher education. After receiving her JD, cum laude, from Willamette University, Jennifer practiced with the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine in Portland. She also worked at Portland State University as the Assistant Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs and served on Superintendent Susan Castillo's executive team at the Oregon Department of Education. In the Oregon Legislature, Jennifer serves on the Joint Committee on Legislative Administration, Joint Committee on Ways and Means and is the chair of the House Rules Committee. In July 2017, Jennifer was re-elected by her colleagues to serve as the House Majority Leader. Jennifer lives in Northwest Portland with her husband Paul. When she is not in Salem, she loves to travel (hoping to make it through the entire list of the 1000 Places to See Before You Die), eating at as many new restaurants as possible, and spending time with her nineteen nieces and nephews. She volunteers as a big sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia/Willamette and with Mercy Corps Northwest's L.I.F.E. program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. She is also on the board of the Classroom Law Project and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon. Jennifer has served the people of House District 36 since she was elected in 2012 and is proud to advocate for a future that is strong, stable, and bright for all Oregonians.