Mainland alumnus goes to Washington as aide to Ohio senator

Newly elected Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, has tapped former Linwood resident and Mainland Regional High School graduate Jacob Reses as his chief of staff.  

Reses previously served as senior policy adviser to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., advising on legislative issues including technology, antitrust, trade and economic policy. He also has served as director of strategic initiatives at Heritage Action for America, a conservative policy advocacy group.

Reses, 32, is a 2009 graduate of Mainland and was the valedictorian of his class. His leadership skills were apparent in high school.

Mainland Guidance Director Nathan Lichtenwalner worked with Reses for four years as the adviser of the Political Science Club at Mainland.

“He was a leader from day one and never looked back,” Lichtenwalner said. “He was confident and fearless, but also humble and respectful. He was energetic, but always cool, calm and collected in how he carried himself, which is what made him such an effective leader. He encouraged and inspired not only his peers but also older students, as well as faculty. Jacob was always mature beyond his years and quickly gained the respect of his peers and faculty.

“I fully expect to see him continue to emerge as a key figure in American government, law and politics.” 

In 2006, Reses’ freshman year, he helped Mainland develop a series of mini policy debates in the library.

“I remember watching him lead upperclassmen students in advanced history and government classes during these debates and thinking to myself, ‘Wow, this kid is different, he is going to do big things,'” Lichtenwalner said. “Jacob’s leadership capacity combined with his relentless pursuit of knowledge, along with a good sense of humor, is what made him such a special student-leader at Mainland.”

Even before Reses hit high school, he made his interest in politics known.

“Jacob was a history teacher’s dream,” Belhaven Middle School eighth-grade history teacher John Napoli said. “I had him in my class for a special presidential unit in 2004. We ran a mock election in our school. Jacob was John Kerry, Chris Losco was George W. Bush and Chris Devine was a third-party candidate. They all assembled their teams and campaigned throughout the school going into each grade level and debating. There was such a spark in Jacob. He loved to debate and was exceptionally comfortable at it despite no real training. How quickly he would be able to counter-argue his opponent’s points. It was a unit I will always remember and three young men that did a phenomenal job.”

Needless to say, Reses’ parents are proud of their son’s accomplishments.

“It was such a long slog everywhere through the pandemic, even on Capitol Hill, and Jacob stayed in touch and kept working,” said his mother, Karen Reses. “This is his dream job, and something he has aspired to.”

She relayed a story that would seem to serve as the basis for her son’s philosophy: “It was years ago and we were in New York one day in the Mayflower doughnut shop where there was a sign on the wall that he read, ‘As you amble through life, brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye on the doughnut and not on the hole.’ That is the attitude Jacob has always had, to look at the big picture and not get distracted.”

It also helps that Karen Reses’ mother, Vera Hirshberg, was a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon in the 1970s.

Jacob Reses is a graduate of Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy and is in his last semester at Stanford Law School. According to Karen Reses, he has completed all his requirements to graduate, and now that he is living in Washington, any remaining course work will be done through Georgetown University.  

As Vance’s new chief of staff, Reses will be busy getting ready for Jan. 3, 2023, when his boss takes the oath of office as the newest United States senator from Ohio. Vance defeated Democrat Tim Ryan to fill the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.