Name J. Mesnard Nationality American Role American Politician | Spouse(s) Holly Mesnard | |
Alma mater Arizona State UniversityUniversity of PhoenixKeller Graduate School of Management Residence Gilbert, Arizona, United States | ||
Javan "J.D." Mesnard (born May 15, 1980 in Tampa, Florida) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives, who is currently serving as its Speaker and has been representing District 17 (Chandler, Gilbert, Sun Lakes) since January 14, 2013. Prior to all legislative boundaries being redrawn and renumbered in 2012, Mesnard represented District 21 (Chandler, Gilbert, Sun Lakes, Mesa, Queen Creek) from January 10, 2011 until January 14, 2013.
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Education
Born at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida (his father is a retired fighter pilot), J.D. has lived in Arizona for over 20 years. He is a small business owner, investor, consultant and professor at Mesa Community College. J.D. spent many years as a music team leader, and as a youth counselor and mentor at his local church.
Mesnard earned his bachelor's degree in music composition from Arizona State University, his master's degree in business from University of Phoenix, and his master's in public administration from Keller Graduate School of Management (now DeVry University). While in graduate school, J.D. caught the attention of a professor who was an Adjunct Scholar with the National Center for Policy Analysis (a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy think tank based in Texas and Washington D.C.), and was subsequently recruited to join with the professor and with Chief Economist and speaker Dr. Barry Asmus to be a spokesman for the NCPA.
Career
Mesnard is State Representative from Legislative District 17 (Chandler, Gilbert and Sun Lakes), having been elected to the Arizona House of Representatives on November 2, 2010. He was selected to be Speaker of the House for the 2017-2018 term. He previously served as the Speaker Pro Tempore under Speaker Tobin from 2013-2014.
Prior to running for office, Mesnard spent eight years working at the Arizona Senate where he served as a policy advisor on issues ranging from education, transportation and retirement, to family services and government administration. During his employment at the Senate, he was Senate Coordinator for the "Legislators Back to School Program." Sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the intent of this program is to bring civics to life by connecting legislators with classrooms to give kids of all ages a chance to talk about their ideas with the state legislators who represent them. While Mesnard was coordinator of the program Arizona became the top state in the country for participation in the program.
Mesnard is currently faculty at Mesa Community College, where he teaches courses in government and political science. He is also a small business owner (investing/consulting).
Charitable and Nonprofit Associations
Mesnard helped establish Voices of the World, a non-profit Christian charity whose mission includes providing humanitarian aid to the poor and destitute of the world. Voices of the World currently sponsors missionaries in Maputo, Mozambique in Africa.
In November 2014 Mesnard traveled to Vietnam and Myanmar to meet with government leaders as part of the American Council of Young Political Leaders program.