Former Director of Policy and Advocacy at Sojourners

Reverend Jennifer Kottler currently serves as the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Sojourners. A long-time advocate for justice, Jennifer has served in advocacy ministry for more than 7 years through her work at Protestants for the Common Good (Chicago IL), the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, and the Chicago Jobs Council, prior to joining Sojourners.

Jen has a long track record of successful advocacy and policy change at the city, state and federal level fighting for civil rights, increasing the minimum wage, increasing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), expanding eligibility for state child health insurance, regulating the pay day loan industry, increasing the availability of job training and support services for low income adults and access to affordable housing. She received her M.Div. from the Divinity School at The University of Chicago and is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Jen also has a Master’s degree in Special Education from the George Washington University and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Bethany College (West Virginia).

Jen resides in Columbia Heights and enjoys good food, good wine and good friends. An avid sports fan and native of the Pittsburgh area, Jen likes to travel, hike and cheer for the Steelers.

Posts By This Author

Where Has All the Sanity Gone?

by Jennifer Kottler 07-27-2011

Where has all the sanity gone?

I, for one, never expected in my wildest dreams to pine for the days of Ronald Reagan. But I'm there.

And for everyone who is blaming "everyone" on this debt ceiling debacle, you're just dead wrong. The Democratically controlled House and Senate in the 80s did not hold President Reagan hostage when he had to raise the debt ceiling. And that is exactly what is happening. And the problem is that this is a train wreck that has been months in the coming. The only thing that we don't know is how bad the carnage will be.

When in Romans...

by Jennifer Kottler 06-03-2011

The Utah Compact has good immigration principles -- but there's still a more excellent way.

Millions More for Millionaires

by Jennifer Kottler 12-09-2010
I have to admit that the estate tax is one of my favorite things to rant about.

How Can a 'Peace and Justice' Community Support the DREAM Act?

by Jennifer Kottler 12-08-2010
We've been asked by more than one of our readers and supporters about how we can support the DREAM Act and hold that in tension wit

For the DREAMers, The Waiting Must End Today

by Jennifer Kottler 12-02-2010
In this season of Advent, we in our Christian churches speak often about how this is a time of waiting and preparation leading up to t

Thank God for the Patriot Millionaires

by Jennifer Kottler 11-24-2010
This morning I learned about a website and a letter signed by more than 3 dozen millionaires (folks who have earned over $1 million in a year either now or in the past) asking the President to allo

Entitlement Hypocrisy

by Jennifer Kottler 11-18-2010
You might think that those who spent their campaigns telling their constituents that they would work to appeal "Obamacare" -- just another government entitlement -- would either think that

For They Shall be Called Children of God

by Jennifer Kottler 08-19-2010
In Sunday school many many years ago, I learned the Beatitudes.

Choices Make Changes

by Jennifer Kottler 08-12-2010
"Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan (1860 - 1925)

REEL Images of Immigration: The Visitor

by Jennifer Kottler 08-09-2010

[Editor's Note: This week we will have a series of reviews on films with a focus on immigration. Check back each day for a new film review, and visit www.faithandimmigration.org for more information]

Attention Must Be Paid

by Jennifer Kottler 08-05-2010
In our 24-hour news cycle society, where news and so-called news (sensationalism, by any other name) is thrown at us at lightning speed and in ever-increasing amounts, it can be difficult to distin

The Immigration Fight Isn't Over

by Jennifer Kottler 07-29-2010
Yesterday, U.S.

The Oil Has Stopped, But How Can I Keep From Praying?

by Jennifer Kottler 07-16-2010
It is with cautious optimism that I write these words: Apparently, oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf (at least from the spot where we had been watching http://blog.sojo.net/tag/oil-spi

Excuse Me, Senator Grassley, Did I Hear You Correctly?

by Jennifer Kottler 07-15-2010
Every so often I read something in print, and I think to myself, did he/she really say that?

Information Consumers:

by Jennifer Kottler 07-14-2010
Yesterday, like most mornings, I spent 33 minutes on the elliptical trainer in my apartment exercise room. As a way to distract myself and multi-task, I watched the morning news.

This One's for Isaiah

by Jennifer Kottler 03-26-2010
I get asked often how I can stay in the crazy business of trying to change and shape public policy.

The Real Housewives of Orange County...Really?

by Jennifer Kottler 01-20-2010

Fired Up About Financial Reform

by Jennifer Kottler 12-09-2009

I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore

Neighbors We May Rarely See

by Jennifer Kottler 11-05-2009
I don't know about you, but I rarely, if ever travel the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. I've heard it's a rough neighborhood -- people get robbed, beaten and left for dead.