David Jimenez serves as the manager of government affairs for Niskanen Center’s social policy team, where he works to advance the think tank’s policy approaches to housing, child care, family security, paid leave, and unemployment insurance with lawmakers and partners. He previously served as Senior Manager of Government Affairs for Prison Fellowship, the nation’s largest Christian non-profit serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, where he managed the organization’s federal and state legislative campaigns on sentencing, prison culture, reentry, and policing. In that role, he contributed significantly to several landmark policy victories, including the reinstatement of Pell Grants for incarcerated students, the House of Representatives passage of legislation to end the federal crack cocaine powder cocaine disparity, the Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act, the Fair Chance Act, and major state initiatives in Oklahoma, Virginia, and Tennessee. He began his career in public policy as a primary manager for the American Enterprise Institute’s outreach to college students, faculty, and administrators.
After graduating from Bowdoin College in Maine, Jimenez participated in the Hudson Institute’s Political Studies Fellowship and was a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Romania. A Pittsburgh native, Jimenez lives in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C.