Born in Washington Heights in New York City, Jeffrey Sánchez was raised in the Mission Main Housing Development in Boston. He has represented Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain and Brookline in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 16 years where he has been lauded as a leader in healthcare reform housing and infrastructure, gun laws and violence prevention, criminal justice reform, and the environment. He currently serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Previously, Jeffrey served as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health as well as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development.
Throughout his time in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Chairman Sánchez has emphasized bringing people together to work out their differences and pass laws that improve the lives of residents in the Commonwealth, especially the most vulnerable. Most recently in 2018 he was successful in nearly unanimously passing a $41.8 billion budget that was applauded by individual citizens, stakeholders, and business and fiscal watchdogs. He also drafted the largest Housing Bond bill Authorization in the Commonwealths history, $1.8 billion. Under his leadership, Massachusetts continued to lead on gun control by implementing a ban on bump stocks and passed legislation allowing for courts to issue extreme risk protection orders.
Chairman Sánchez has been advocating for healthcare reform for over sixteen years. In 2006, he worked to pass landmark legislation which affirmed health care as a right in Massachusetts. Since then, he has crafted laws that support and enable the Life Sciences industry to grow and thrive, establish a statewide health care cost benchmark, and worked to protect and ensure 98% of the state’s population has health insurance. He authored and successfully ushered into law comprehensive legislation to close the racial health disparities gap, criminal justice, compounding pharmacy practice, and improve school nutrition programs.
In all of his endeavors Chairman Sánchez has sought to find equity and opportunities for those most vulnerable and those who often get overlooked in opportunities in joining a thriving economy. He proudly fought and successfully defeated efforts to repeal gay marriage, he championed comprehensive front-to-back criminal justice reform and he is a successful advocate for English language learners. After 15 years of advocacy, Chairman Sanchez’s Language Opportunities for Our Kids (LOOK) bill was signed into law, overturning a failed one-size-fits-all policy to educating English language learner (ELL) students and creating a pathway to ensure ELL students receive a quality education.
Before running for State Representative in 2002, Jeffrey worked for Boston Mayor Thomas Michael Menino. During that time, he took a crash course in city services, working on initiatives as simple as ensuring potholes were filled to those as complicated as rehousing those who lost their home in fires and floods. He played a key role organizing the Jackson Square Coordinating Group, which created the community vision to redevelop the neighborhood, and as State Representative fought for state dollars to make that vision a reality: over 600 units of affordable housing have since been developed in Jackson Square, and another 500 units are in the pipeline. Jeff also ran Boston’s 2000 Census, ensuring that everyone, especially those who spoke another language, were counted in the Census. Prior to working in government he worked in banking and finance.
Jeffrey 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.
was raised in the Mission Main Housing Development in Boston. He has represented Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain and Brookline in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 16 years where he has been lauded as a leader in healthcare reform housing and infrastructure, gun laws and violence prevention, criminal justice reform, and the environment. He currently serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Previously, Jeffrey served as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health as well as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development.
Throughout his time in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Chairman Sánchez has emphasized bringing people together to work out their differences and pass laws that improve the lives of residents in the Commonwealth, especially the most vulnerable. Most recently in 2018 he was successful in nearly unanimously passing a $41.8 billion budget that was applauded by individual citizens, stakeholders, and business and fiscal watchdogs. He also drafted the largest Housing Bond bill Authorization in the Commonwealths history, $1.8 billion. Under his leadership, Massachusetts continued to lead on gun control by implementing a ban on bump stocks and passed legislation allowing for courts to issue extreme risk protection orders.
Chairman Sánchez has been advocating for healthcare reform for over sixteen years. In 2006, he worked to pass landmark legislation which affirmed health care as a right in Massachusetts. Since then, he has crafted laws that support and enable the Life Sciences industry to grow and thrive, establish a statewide health care cost benchmark, and worked to protect and ensure 98% of the state’s population has health insurance. He authored and successfully ushered into law comprehensive legislation to close the racial health disparities gap, criminal justice, compounding pharmacy practice, and improve school nutrition programs.
In all of his endeavors Chairman Sánchez has sought to find equity and opportunities for those most vulnerable and those who often get overlooked in opportunities in joining a thriving economy. He proudly fought and successfully defeated efforts to repeal gay marriage, he championed comprehensive front-to-back criminal justice reform and he is a successful advocate for English language learners. After 15 years of advocacy, Chairman Sanchez’s Language Opportunities for Our Kids (LOOK) bill was signed into law, overturning a failed one-size-fits-all policy to educating English language learner (ELL) students and creating a pathway to ensure ELL students receive a quality education.
Before running for State Representative in 2002, Jeffrey worked for Boston Mayor Thomas Michael Menino. During that time, he took a crash course in city services, working on initiatives as simple as ensuring potholes were filled to those as complicated as rehousing those who lost their home in fires and floods. He played a key role organizing the Jackson Square Coordinating Group, which created the community vision to redevelop the neighborhood, and as State Representative fought for state dollars to make that vision a reality: over 600 units of affordable housing have since been developed in Jackson Square, and another 500 units are in the pipeline. Jeff also ran Boston’s 2000 Census, ensuring that everyone, especially those who spoke another language, were counted in the Census. Prior to working in government he worked in banking and finance.
Jeffrey 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.
