Jeff Currey

MPA Fellows, Class of 2025

Chief of Staff, Office of the House Majority Leader, CT General Assembly

Jeff Currey is Chief of Staff to the House Majority Leader in the Connecticut General Assembly and a 2025 graduate of UConn’s MPA Fellows Program.

Before joining the Majority Leader’s office, Jeff served ten years as State Representative for the 11th Assembly District, representing his hometown of East Hartford and his adopted communities of Manchester and South Windsor. In the legislature, he was House Chair of the Education Committee and served on the Appropriations, Commerce, and Judiciary Committees. During that time, he also oversaw Goodwin University’s SNAP Employment & Training Program, a partnership with the Connecticut Department of Social Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that offers free certificate and degree opportunities to people receiving SNAP benefits.

Earlier in his career, Jeff chaired the East Hartford Board of Education, served on the East Hartford Inland Wetlands Commission, and worked for the Connecticut Department of Labor and Nevins & Nevins LLP. He has been active with many local nonprofits, including the East Hartford Alumni Association and Education Foundation, the Little Theatre of Manchester, the Lutz Children’s Museum, and the Friends of Wood Memorial Library.

Jeff holds a B.A. in Theater and Speech from Wagner College, and he’s still amazed at how well those skills carry over into public administration and policymaking.

“When I left the legislature and became the Majority Leader’s Chief of Staff at the start of the 2025 session, I’d spend Saturday in class discussing organizational leadership or public finance, then walk into the Legislative Office Building on Monday and put it to work. The program gave me new and expanded frameworks for things I had previously done by instinct, like building a team, delegating well, and weighing competing priorities with limited time and resources.

Just as valuable was the cohort. Working alongside professionals from state agencies, municipalities, and nonprofits reminded me that the laws the legislature passes are carried out by people like my classmates. Understanding their world has made me a better partner to them.”