Professor Steven Jumper

Steven Jumper is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of the District of Columbia. Mr. Jumper is a veteran public affairs professional, having served in government cabinet-level and corporate executive-level public policy roles. In his public sector roles, Mr. Jumper served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former DC Mayor Sharon Pratt, and went on to serve as Executive Director for Small and Minority Business Development. It was during that time that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-based set-aside contracting programs. Under Jumper’s leadership, his office authored new legislation to restructure the program under new legal guidelines, and shepherded the new legislation through the DC Council and Congress. More recently, Mr. Jumper served as Director, Corporate Public Policy, for one of Washington’s older public companies. In that capacity, he led public affairs functions, including federal and state government relations, community relations, corporate philanthropy, and PAC administration for four states and the District of Columbia. Mr. Jumper led the company’s largest-ever public affairs campaign, securing over $400 million annually in new revenue authority. He has led other public policy campaigns in concert with major business and trade organizations. He previously served as cochairman of the DC Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, and the Greater Washington Board of Trade Policy Subcommittee, where he helped champion legislation important to Washington’s business community. Mr. Jumper served on the Board of the Public Affairs Council, the leading nonpartisan, nonpolitical association for public affairs executives worldwide.