JORDAN HAWKINS
Senior Strategist

Jordan Hawkins was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He came to Columbus in the fall of 2013 as a student at Otterbein University. During his time at Otterbein, Jordan became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. as a member of the “Mighty” Omicron Rho Chapter, proudly served in leadership positions within Otterbein’s Black student organizations, and as a student activist committed to addressing racism on campus. Jordan began his political career in 2016, serving as an intern at the Ohio House of Representative and at the NAACP’s Washington D.C. Bureau. He graduated from Otterbein in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Sociology.

Upon graduation, Jordan further immersed himself in the political realm by relocating to Washington D.C. to serve as a congressional intern with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in former Congresswoman Marcia Fudge’s D.C. office. He later returned to Columbus and joined State Senator Vernon Sykes’ office as a Legislative Aide. During the 2018 Midterm Election, Jordan took a leap of faith and joined then Democratic nominee for Ohio Treasurer, Rob Richardson, as his statewide Political Director. Following the 2018 Election, he became the Deputy Engagement Director of the Ohio Democratic Party and member of the Ohio Young Black Democrats in 2019. In addition to newfound opportunities with campaign politics and organizing across Ohio's progressive ecosystem, Jordan became a member of the New Leaders Council of Columbus and United Way Project Diversity fellowship classes in 2019.

Jordan currently serves as President of the Ohio Young Black Democrats, a statewide organization and official caucus within the Ohio Democratic Party which serves to mentor, recruit, and empower the next generation of young Black leaders across the state– while engaging and mobilizing Black voters across Ohio– a position he has held since 2019. From 2021-2025, he served as the 1st Black man and youngest person to be the Executive Director of the Ohio House Democratic Caucus (OHDC). In his role with the OHDC, Jordan recruited and helped manage state legislative candidates in Ohio’s 99 state legislative districts as well as leading the execution of all strategic campaign activities of the OHDC with members of the Ohio House and partners across the Democratic ecosystem. During his tenure at the caucus, the OHDC not only gained seats in the Ohio House, but helped get historic 1st-time candidates elected to office to serve the people of Ohio. He was recently honored for his work in the community, earning the 2024 Game Changer Award in that year’s edition of Who’s Who in Black Columbus.

Jordan’s mantra is simple - let your work do the talking, and always stay true to yourself.