About Jewel

Jewel Gatling was born and raised in Portsmouth, VA and is a proud graduate of Norfolk State University with a Bachelors in Sociology and Iowa State University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Masters in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Disorganization, Victimization and Community Cohesion. In May 2012 she became a Fellow with the Obama for America campaign. It is here where her passion for civic engagement, community advocacy and organizing developed. After the re-election of President Obama, Jewel would continue her work on various state and local elections through her creation of the Suffolk Young Democrats (SYD). With the support of the Suffolk Democratic Committee, Jewel served as President of SYD from 2013 to 2015 and was able to organize numerous community engagement events, such as political education forums, voter registration, school supply and food drives. In 2017 Jewel took her gifts to Richmond, VA and began her work as an Assistant Legislative Aide for the Office of Senator Lynwood Lewis and the Office of Delegate Luke E. Torian.

Jewel is a graduate of the Virginia Progressive Leadership Program, a Life Member of the NAACP, a former Suffolk Chair with the Hampton Roads Young Democrats, a former member of Urban League of Young Professionals Greater Richmond,  has worked with the Virginia Civic Engagement Table as an Organizer for the Youth Virginia Votes Center-Richmond. She is the former Executive Director for Brown Virginia, a nonpartisan, non-profit that provides a diverse and balanced voice to issues of importance in minority communities. Jewel was an appointee to the Maggie L. Walker Initiative Citizens Advisory Board here in Richmond and served as the Vice Chair and Chair of the Community Outreach Subcommittee on the Richmond Task Force for the Establishment of a Civilian Review Board. Jewel served as the first virtual host of the 2021 CannaJustice Conference and was elected in January 2022 to serve as the Chair for the Richmond City Democratic Committee. 

Jewel still maintains her devotion for change through neighborhood call to action meetings. These community gatherings are designed to educate, empower and encourage citizens on how to become involved in political action and to productively advocate for social issues.