Jeffrey Sánchez grew up in public housing in Mission Hill, where his mother was a community activist who successfully organized with neighbors to demand better housing conditions from the Boston Housing Authority. He currently represents the communities of Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and Brookline as State Representative, where he has focused on ensuring access to universal healthcare, violence prevention, and affordable housing throughout his tenure. He serves as the Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, which is responsible for crafting the state’s annual budget, as well as legislation affecting the finances of the Commonwealth.

Throughout his time in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Representative Sánchez has emphasized bringing people together to work out their differences and pass laws that improve the lives of residents in the Commonwealth. He played a role passing healthcare reform in 2006, which has brought health insurance to 98% of the state’s population and served as a model for the Affordable Care Act, successfully defeated efforts to repeal gay marriage, championed comprehensive criminal justice reform policies and funding to help people turn their lives around, and voted for Massachusetts’ strongest-in-the-nation gun control legislation, including a ban on bump stocks. And, he has been a successful advocate for English language learners: after filing legislation for 15 years, the Governor signed the Language Opportunities for Our Kids Act, which will improve education for English language learners across Massachusetts.

Previously, Jeffrey served as the Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and the Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health as well as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development. He worked for Boston Mayor Thomas Michael Menino from 1995 to 2001, and ran the 2000 Census for the City of Boston. He attended Roxbury Community College and received his Bachelor of Arts in Legal Education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston before earning his Masters of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Sánchez also serves as an instructor at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He currently lives in Jamaica Plain with his wife, Brenda, and two daughters.