Jeff Dove for Congress

Jeff Dove Jr.’s biography traces the touchstones of the American Dream: the child of a single mother, raised in multiple towns, attending five high schools in four years, who constructed a future through hard work and faith in the essential goodness of humankind.

“My family had some hard times, but those weren’t our focus. What we recognized was that we were – and still are – a family, and that’s the foundation for any future,” Dove says today.

He spent his youth in a variety of suburban D.C. towns, constantly moving with his mom and sister until the family ended up in Roanoke, VA. On his first day at one of the two high schools he would attend in that town, Jeff discovered he was one of only 16 African-American students in the school.

After graduating, he found work at an area university, working at its student store, before joining the U.S. Army in 2004.

“You could say the Army was my finishing school. It gave me discipline, a sense of accomplishment, and turned me into a self-starter when it came to any task at hand,” Dove says.

Dove served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he worked as a 74D Chemical Operations Specialist, and was awarded the Combat Action Badge.

Coming home, he enrolled in Strayer University, where he made the Dean’s Honor Roll while working full time. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems.

Dove’s experiences helped shape his conservative principles – a foundation of beliefs that support free markets, personal liberty, respect for the Constitution, and traditional values.“It’s been said that where there is no vision, the people will perish. I think it’s important that this vision be gained through the clear lens of American values,” he says.

Dove married Stephanie Fallarme in 2011 and the couple are expecting their first child in July. They reside in Woodbridge, VA.

In addition to his Army service, Dove has been employed by the Naval Research Lab Federal Credit Union, Capital One, and the National Association of City and County Health Officials