Stephen Jackson is the Senior Director of Policy for The Ripon Society. He also serves in this position for the Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange.

Since joining Ripon in 2009, Stephen has helped plan and develop the programming for hundreds of policy events on Capitol Hill. He’s also formulated dozens of international panel discussions with Members of Congress and their counterparts in Europe. His groundbreaking research on proxy voting in the House of Representatives was cited by the Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Bloomberg Government, and RealClearPolitics, among others.

Beyond his policy work, he continues to assist with a number of tasks he formerly led including video editing, web and database development, graphic design, social media, and photography. Stephen was also instrumental in establishing the young professional group the Ripon 39ers.

In his own time, Stephen is the membership chairman for the D.C. Republican Committee and was previously its Ward 6 chairman. Stephen is the former chairman of the D.C. Young Republicans, where he grew the organization to over 400 paid members and won the outstanding state federation award. During his time with the DCYRs, he planned and led over 20 weekend campaign trips for 500+ volunteers to swing districts across the country.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Music in double bass performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He spent several formative summers at the Brevard Music Center and presently plays in several community orchestras. An Eagle Scout and a native of Northern Virginia, Stephen lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Nicole and their young daughter Addie.