Breanna Jefferson

Bre Jefferson is a dedicated public servant who has spent her career creating transformative change in the political system. Her balance of lived and professional experience provides her with a harmony of compassion, technical skills, and political insight. 

Most recently, she served as the Political Director of Sage Leaders – a Seattle-based advocacy organization focused on creating deep democracy in Washington State by developing Black, Indigenous and People of Color community leaders for civic and elected leadership. Bre became the organization’s Political Director just one month after its official launch. Under her leadership, Sage Leaders trained over one-hundred community leaders on the ins and outs of running for office, coached and facilitated peer support for over 30 candidates running for elected office, launched the organization’s first community-driven political endorsements process, and quadrupled the organizational operating budget. All within her first year. She was promoted to Acting Director of the organization in September 2021.  

In 2019, after years of work as a speechwriter for the state Senate Democratic Caucus, Bre was recruited as a Policy Analyst in the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. She was then appointed to run a state-wide community task force focused on producing recommendations to reduce hate crime in Washington. The first of its kind in state history. The report she and the task force sent to the Legislature and Governor uncovered the vast underreporting of bias crimes in communities of color and led to statutory changes.  

Bre is a proud graduate of Western Washington University (WWU), where she majored in Political Science, focusing on American Public Policy. While at WWU, she worked as a Research Assistant to the Dean of the International Studies department; her research focused on the ways domestic and foreign policy impact international collegiate exchange programs. She was also a Teaching Assistant for the school’s Political Science Department and served as one of the campus Political Science Association Officers. In 2014, during her senior year, Bre was one of the seven students selected from her university to intern at the Washington State Senate. She credits her time at WWU with igniting her trajectory as a change maker. 

The breadth of her experience has shown Bre that politics are personal and that our democracy can only work when we are all given a seat at the proverbial political table. A belief that continues to ground and sustain her. 

Outside of work, Bre volunteers her time mentoring other young BIPOC women interested in pursuing careers in politics and, until she moved to DC, served on the board of two Seattle-based nonprofit organizations. She has also volunteered her time as a political advisor, kitchen cabinet member, and eager doorknocker for countless progressive candidates back home in Washington. 

During her time at National Urban Fellows, Bre is most interested in exploring ways to ensure that public policy outcomes have a positive impact on people’s lives and is looking forward to bringing her years of relationship-building, analytical skills, and strategy to this new experience.