Chris Van Hollen: Global Down Syndrome Foundation
2013 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award Recipient

Chris Van Hollen has served in Congress since 2003 representing Maryland’s 8th District.

He serves as the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, where he works to advance policies that support job creation and economic growth, reduce the deficit, and put America on a path to fiscal sustainability and broadly-shared prosperity.

Van Hollen, an advocate for the Affordable Care Act, successfully spearheaded the effort to ensure young adults receive expanded access to health insurance under the act.

A champion of civil rights, he has worked to ensure schools provide accommodations for people with disabilities to fully participate. He is one of four co-chairs on the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus.

A former professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Van Hollen has a strong background in national security policy. The son of a Foreign Service officer, he lived and studied abroad for many years and has remained active in issues related to U.S. foreign policy and national security.

Van Hollen was given the “Courageous Leadership Award” from The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee in 2012 and was recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as the “Best Metro Area Member of Congress” and as the “Best Local Elected Official” by Bethesda Magazine.

Before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Van Hollen served 4 years in the Maryland House of Delegates and 8 years in the Maryland Senate. He also worked as an attorney in private practice for 10 years. Van Hollen is a graduate of Swarthmore College, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and Georgetown University Law Center. He lives in Kensington, Maryland, with his wife, Katherine, and their three children, Anna, Nicholas and Alexander.

We are proud to announce Congressman Chris Van Hollen as the 2013 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award recipient.