MEET
Mondaire
Jones
MONDAIRE JONES HAS BEEN A LAWYER, NONPROFIT LEADER, AND ACTIVIST. NOW HE’S A CHAMPION IN CONGRESS.
Mondaire Jones is a leading member of Congress. Mondaire made history when he was sworn in on January 3, 2021 as the nation’s first openly gay, Black member of Congress. A Spring Valley native, Mondaire grew up in Section 8 housing, raised by a single mom who worked multiple jobs to provide for their family. He attended public schools before earning degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Law School and working in the Obama Administration. Mondaire has championed strengthening our democracy, protecting fundamental rights like abortion and marriage equality, making housing affordable, Medicare for All, and universal child care.

Mondaire went on to earn his bachelor’s degree at Stanford University, work at the Department of Justice during the Obama Administration, and graduate from Harvard Law School. He is a co-founder of the nonprofit Rising Leaders, Inc. and has previously served on the NAACP’s National Board of Directors and on the board of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Prior to being elected to Congress, Mondaire was a litigator in the Westchester County Attorney’s Office.
Since his arrival in Congress, Mondaire has taken advantage of every opportunity to fight for his community in Washington. He was elected unanimously by his colleagues as Freshman Representative to House Democratic Leadership, and he was appointed a Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Co-Chair of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus. He serves on the House Judiciary, Education and Labor, and Ethics Committees, where he has established himself as a leader on issues of democracy reform, civil rights, child care, and climate. In 2021, the publication Axios rated Mondaire the most active freshman member of Congress.




Mondaire's Experience
After college, Mondaire served in the Obama Administration. In the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice, Mondaire worked on judicial nominations for the White House, including that of future Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. The slow pace of judicial confirmations, in those early years, showed him what can happen when Democrats in Congress allow Republicans to block progress instead of fighting tooth-and-nail for the American people. At DOJ, Mondaire also co-authored a report to Attorney General Eric Holder on reducing the recidivism of people leaving federal prisons and helping them rejoin society.