Jeff Hamond

Jeff Hamond is a Vice President at VSConsulting specializing in taxation, economic policy, and philanthropic issues.  He joins the firm following a distinguished career on Capitol Hill as the top economic policy advisor to three U.S. Senators.

Until August 2011, Mr. Hamond served as Economic Policy Director for Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate and a member of the Finance, Banking, and Judiciary Committees.  He joined the Schumer office in 2005, shortly after the Senator was first appointed to the Finance Committee.  Prior posts include Senior Legislative Assistant for Economic and Tax Policy for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Legislative Assistant for Economic Policy for former Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.

Mr. Hamond also spent time researching and writing about policy at two well-regarded nonprofits.  At Redefining Progress, an organization in San Francisco dedicated to changing how the nation thinks about economic growth, Mr. Hamond directed a program based on environmental tax reform.  The Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. was his institutional home for developing centrist economic policy ideas, some of which were adopted by the Clinton Administration in the mid-1990s.

During his tenure on Capitol Hill, Mr. Hamond played a key role in developing a number of economic initiatives, including the HIRE Act (passed on a bipartisan basis in 2010 to encourage the hiring of unemployed workers); the American Opportunity Tax Credit (included in the stimulus package in 2009); the “Cash for Clunkers” program; various efforts to call attention to China’s unfair trade practices; the expansion of tax-free benefits for transit users; marriage penality relief; and an array of legislative initiatives to benefit the charity and foundation sectors.  His work with charities, nonprofits, and private foundations helped Sen. Schumer earn the recognition that led to his being named the co-chair of the Senate Philanthropy Caucus in 2008.

In addition to designing legislation, Mr. Hamond is equally skilled in the public relations and communications functions considered vital for both the private and public sectors to mobilize public opinion and achieve high-quality results in Washington. 

His accomplishments include authoring policy studies, reports, and articles targeted at both expert audiences and the general population, and he has published a number of op-eds in prominent newspapers in both his and others’ names.  Having worked for over a decade advising Senators, staff, and constituents on how to create and refine their messages, Mr. Hamond has broad expertise in helping various constituencies implement the most appropriate tools and strategies for success.  Policy creativity is his specialty.  He is an innovative thinker who has often devised alternative policy solutions for stalled initiatives.

Mr. Hamond earned a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics, cum laude, at Tufts University, then went on to obtain a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.