David R. Jones (1938 – April 7, 1998) was an American conservative political activist and organizer who tried to inspire young people to pursue careers in the nonprofit sector. Born in West Virginia, he was trained as a teacher and taught high school for three years in

Pinellas County, Florida Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

, before turning his career towards politics. From 1963 until 1968, he was the executive director for

Young Americans for Freedom Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a conservative youth educational activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians on American college campuses. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ...

. In 1968, he co-founded the Charles Edison Memorial Youth Fund along with

William F. Buckley, Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist. Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...

, Walter Judd, and

Marvin Liebman Marvin Liebman (July 21, 1923 – March 31, 1997) was an American conservative activist and fundraiser, and later in his life, a gay rights advocate. Early life Liebman was raised in Brooklyn, New York, by his parents, Benjamin "Benny" Liebma ...

. From 1969 until 1971, he was national vice chairman of the Young Republican National Federation. During this time, he was campaign director for

James L. Buckley James Lane Buckley (March 9, 1923 – August 18, 2023) was an American politician, jurist, diplomat, and author. Buckley served in the United States Senate as a member of the Conservative Party of New York State, held multiple positions within ...

during his successful U.S. Senate election on the

Conservative Party of New York State The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running only on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to ...

ticket. He served as an administrative assistant for Senator Buckley until 1974. Jones then moved to Tennessee to become executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party and vice chancellor for development for

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

appointed him as chairman of the national Commission on Student Financial Assistance. He died on April 7, 1998, following a short battle with lung cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, David R. 1938 births 1998 deaths Florida Republicans Tennessee Republicans