Jessica Lynn Gavora (born 1963) is an American conservative writer on politics and culture, a speechwriter, and a former policy advisor at the United States Department of Justice.[1]
Jessica Gavora | |
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Born | Jessica Lynn Gavora 1963 (age 61–62) Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S. |
Education | Marquette University (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA) |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | Lucianne Goldberg (mother-in-law) |
Gavora was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, one of nine children of Paul (1931–2018) and Donna Gavora (1931-2017), the owners of shopping centers, beverage stores and other businesses.[2][1] She grew up in Fairbanks where she played high school basketball against future Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin.[3][4] She studied political science and journalism at Marquette University, then earned a master's degree in American foreign policy and international economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1993.[2][1]
In the 1990s, she was director of programs at the New Citizenship Project,[5] an organization which initiated the neoconservative Project for the New American Century.[6] Gavora later became U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's chief speechwriter and was a senior policy adviser at the U.S. Department of Justice.[2][1] She worked as a speechwriter and advisor for Nikki Haley during Haley's time as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.[7] She has written speeches for various public figures, including former House speaker Newt Gingrich, and former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.[8] In November 2010, Sarah Palin cited Gavora for her "important work" on Palin's book, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag.[4][9]
Gavora is the author of the 2001 book Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex, and Title IX, a critical review of the effect that gender equity policies have had on male and female school sports (ISBN 978-1893554801).[1][10] She has written for conservative magazines including The Weekly Standard[11] and National Review.[12]
Gavora has been married to conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg since 2001.[2] She and Goldberg have one child and they live in the Washington, D.C., area.[1]
We started out on opposing teams on the high school parquet, but our Alaskan roots connected us...