Jennifer Winkler serves as the director of congressional programs at the Stennis Center for Public Service. She joined the Stennis Center in January 2023. Jennifer was a Stennis Congressional Staff Fellow in the 115th Congress and, before joining the staff of the Center, had actively participated with the Stennis Center as a Senior Stennis Fellow since 2018.
Prior to coming to the Stennis Center, Jennifer spent her career serving in various positions in both the Legislative and Executive Branches of the federal government. Jennifer’s more than 26 years in public service afforded her the opportunity to become a non-partisan expert in the federal budget and to be involved in the technical aspects of drafting legislation that was enacted during her tenure. Jennifer began her career at the Congressional Budget Office, serving as an analyst in the Projections Unit of the Budget Analysis Division. From there, she became a senior analyst for budget review at the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget. After leaving the Budget Committee, Jennifer moved to the Office of Management and Budget, where she worked in the Budget Review Division, including as the Deputy Branch Chief of the Budget Review Branch. Finally, Jennifer was a Professional Staff Member at the Senate Committee on Appropriations, serving as a resource for both the majority and minority staffs.
Jennifer received a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland at College Park and a master of public administration from the George Washington University.