Jean Parvin Bordewich

Jean Parvin Bordewich was a Program Officer for U.S. Democracy at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. She managed a portfolio of grants related to strengthening U.S. democracy, with a particular emphasis on the institution of Congress.

Previously, Jean spent over 20 years as a congressional staff member. Before joining Hewlett in 2014, she served for more than five years as staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, the committee most involved in the administration of the Senate and oversight of legislative branch agencies. In that capacity, she worked on campaign finance disclosure legislation, a new law to broaden access to voting for military and overseas voters, Senate rules and regulations including filibuster reform, improving election administration, streamlining the process for confirmation of Presidential nominations, Senate operations and administration, and oversight for the Federal Election Commission and the Election Assistance Commission. She also served as staff director of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which was responsible for all 2013 Presidential Inaugural events at the U.S. Capitol.

Earlier in her career, Jean was elected to three terms as a councilwoman in New York’s Hudson Valley, ran for Congress in 1998, was a delegate to two national Presidential nominating conventions, and served as chief of staff and campaign director for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She also has worked as a writer and editor for magazines and newspapers, and as a business executive. Since 2014, Jean has written and produced two plays in the Washington, D.C. Capital Fringe Festival, including a political drama about McCarthyism in the U.S. Senate.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in classics from Brown University and a master’s degree in business administration from The George Washington University.