Chairman Jeffrey Sánchez serves as Massachusetts State Representative for the 15th Suffolk/Norfolk District, which includes the Boston communities of Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and Roslindale, along with Precinct 5 of the Town of Brookline, MA.
Chairman Sánchez was appointed House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health by Speaker Robert DeLeo in February 2009. His work is concentrated on improving quality in health through systematic reforms in the public health and health care systems. He is committed to seeking the nexus of health care in the traditional setting and the promotion of public health in the community setting, and in our daily lives.
In addition to his committee duties and responsibilities, Chairman Sánchez’s overall legislative agenda emphasizes initiatives that address access and retention in education, public infrastructure development, workforce development, public health and affordable housing.
Prior to his appointment to the Committee on Public Health, Chairman Sánchez served as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development where he helped usher through the Commonwealth’s life sciences commitment. He also sponsored and promoted an Act Relative to Biomedical Research that clarifies the type of research permissible under state law in respect to neonates.
Chairman Sánchez serves as a legislative appointee to the Commonwealth’s Health Disparities Council, and is a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Health Committee. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Legal Education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and is currently attending the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he is honored to be a Rappaport Urban Scholar.
Chairman Sánchez was recently honored with the Legislator of the Year Award by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and has been recognized for his leadership and support in the passage of An Act Relative to Biomedical Research by Children’s Hospital Boston.
Jeffrey Sánchez was raised in the Boston neighborhood of Mission Hill where, as in every neighborhood in his district, he remains deeply involved with concerns and issues relating to health, safety, jobs, and community development. He and his wife Brenda now live in the Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain while raising two young daughters, Luna Isabella and Amina Xochitl.