Jeffrey Carter was born and raised in Linden. Armed with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration, he started his career as a legislative aide through the encouragement of Judge Eileen Paley and Nancy Sully.

Jeffrey continues to serve as a legislative aide for Columbus City Councilmember, Emmanuel Remy. His work specializes in the communication and collaboration of Columbus community members, organizations, and groups. He notes “there's a lot of great people in this city and there are people here who are doing really great work in our community. The sad part is that a lot of them don't know about each other. So, everyone's doing redundant work, which is a good problem. But sometimes you can have a better program if you collaborate with others who are in the same arena that you're working with.” Jeffrey’s work is citywide and affords him opportunities to work with a diverse population with a variety of questions and concerns, and he recognizes everyone has the right to access this information to find a solution.

"So, for me, my job is to cross-pollinate our community, let them introduce them to one another, and share the work that they're doing to allow them to build stronger connections to strengthen the work that they're doing.”

He recognizes that the work is not always easy, but he almost relishes his problem-solving role. “I really chomp at the bit to work on projects that are in our challenged neighborhoods, so Linden, the Near East Side, the King-Lincoln District, Franklinton, the Hilltop. like to do work in those areas, because there's a lot of folks in those communities that are not aware of the resources that are available to them.” At the end of the day, his role is simple: be present and listen. In his interactions both he and residents have learned something; he leaves better informed on what is really needed and community members are more aware of programs and the friendly face that can be a resource. Jeffrey also contributes to the Stonewall Columbus board. In 2017, noticing a diversity problem on the executive board, Jeffrey applied to be a part of the organization and now serves as secretary. Jeffrey recognizes that it truly takes a village, whether it’s his colleague and nominator Lucy Frank, his inspiring mother, or his husband, to best serve others.