Meet Jennifer
For Jennifer Konfrst, central Iowa is home. It’s where her family’s roots are. It’s where she grew up and graduated high school. It’s where she teaches and the community that has trusted her to fight for them in the Iowa Legislature. It’s where she and her husband raised their kids.
Born in Macomb, Illinois, to two Air Force veterans, Jennifer moved to Fort Dodge as a baby. Her mom, Penni, grew up in Greene County, Iowa, and her dad, Mike, served in Vietnam then went to college studying journalism on the GI bill when Jennifer was a toddler. They divorced when Jennifer was two. For the next few years, Jennifer and her mom moved frequently, struggling to make ends meet while Penni worked as a nurse at VA hospitals across the country. When Jennifer’s third-grade teacher in Florida told Penni that she could probably skip the fourth grade, Penni realized her daughter wasn’t getting the strong public education she had growing up in Iowa. Knowing how important it was that Jennifer get the top-notch education that Iowa public schools provided, she sent her back to Iowa to live with her dad and stepmom, Betty.
In Iowa, Jennifer attended Johnston Public Schools before going to Drake University, where she met her husband, Lee. They married in 1996 and raised their a family in Windsor Heights. They are lifelong members of Plymouth Church in Des Moines. Today, she and Lee are the proud parents of Ellie and James, both graduates of Des Moines Public Schools, and live in Windsor Heights with their dog Clark and their cats, Ivy and Luna.
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Being a mom is what got Jennifer into public service, and providing a quality education for every child motivates her leadership today. She served as President of the Plymouth Nursery School Board, President of the Downtown School PTA, Mock Trial coach at Merrill Middle School, and was a member of the PTA and a debate team parent volunteer at Roosevelt High School. She ran for office the first time when her kids were young to take action to protect Iowa's public schools, flipping her suburban seat in 2018 and being elected House Democratic Leader in 2021.
In 2001, Jennifer went to work for Iowa PBS in communications, where she stayed for over a decade, helping support public television. In 2013, she started her dream job teaching at Drake University. Jennifer is currently a professor in Drake University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s proud to help so many young people find passion in their careers and loves nothing more than watching her students graduate and thrive.
As a mom, educator, and state representative, Jennifer has been a fierce defender of Iowa’s working families. She has championed legislation to lower costs and make healthcare more affordable, raise wages and take on corporate greed, protect reproductive freedom, and strengthen our public schools. As House Democratic Leader, Jennifer meets with and listens to Iowans all across Iowa’s Third Congressional District and she hears it time and again— people are tired of politicians who care more about their political futures than building strong families and communities. Jennifer is a fighter who won’t back down, a leader who will stand up to billionaires and corporations. Iowans need an economy that works for them, and she is ready to fight every day to set aside political games and put Iowans first.​