Jeff Denham

Jeff Denham is a Senior Policy Director in Dentons' Washington, DC Regulatory, Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. His practice focuses on Administrative Law, bringing significant experience in transportation and infrastructure, agriculture, natural resources and energy policy to the role.

Jeff is a former member of the US House of Representatives, having served four terms, from 2010 to 2018, representing California's 10th and formerly 19th districts. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials and the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. He was also a member of the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Veterans' Affairs Committees.

During his time in Congress, Jeff helped draft dozens of bills that were subsequently signed into law, including the 2012 Veterans Skills to Jobs Act; the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act; the 2018 ENLIST Act; and Stafford Act revisions as part of the 2013 Sandy Recovery Improvement Act.

From 2001 to 2009, before his election to the House, Jeff was a member of the California State Senate, representing the state's 12th District, encompassing the counties of Monterey, San Benito, Madera, Merced and Stanislaus. He was chairman of the Agriculture and Veterans' Affairs Committees and focused on such issues as education, government waste, agriculture and economic development.

A staff sergeant in the US Air Force, Jeff served in Operation Desert Storm with the 452nd Air Force Refueling Wing and was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal and various campaign medals for combat duty. He also served in Operation Restore Hope with the 349th Air Mobility Wing and was awarded a second Meritorious Service Medal and various campaign medals.

Jeff founded Denham Plastics LLC, a full-service provider of plastic material handling solutions in Salinas, CA, and also owns an almond farm in the state. He holds a BA from California Polytechnic State University (1992) and was a Spring 2024 Harvard Resident Fellow.