Commissioner Jonathan Stivers has more than 25 years of high-level foreign policy experience in the Congress and the Administration specializing in U.S.-China relations, Asian affairs, national security, trade and economics, international development, and human rights.
Jon currently is the U.S. Director at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation. He recently served as the Minority Staff Director on the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and Chinese Communist Party and as a Professional Staff Member on the House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the budgets for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He also served as the Staff Director on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China where he spearheaded the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and legislation on Tibet and Hong Kong while leading a staff of 14 researchers and analysts in support of annual reports and policy recommendations.
In the Obama Administration, Jon served as the USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia. In this Senate-confirmed position he managed a budget of approximately $1.2 billion in foreign assistance and led a staff of approximately 1,200 development professionals in 32 countries in East Asia and the Pacific Islands, South Asia, and Central Asia. He testified before Congressional committees on almost two dozen occasions on topics related to the Asia-Pacific Rebalance policy, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and on health, development, humanitarian, and democracy promotion initiatives in the region.
Prior to the Executive Branch, Jon served as Senior Advisor to Speaker Pelosi for 15 years. He played a leadership role on numerous foreign policy initiatives related to China and the Asia-Pacific region, trade, currency manipulation, and human rights while serving in the offices of the Speaker, Democratic Leader and Whip. In addition, he was a Senior Legislative Assistant to Rep. Pelosi when she was the Ranking Member of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and Jon was a leader in the effort to defeat China PNTR/WTO accession. He also worked in the Office of the Democratic Whip for former Rep. David Bonior (MI).
Jon earned a Masters of International Policy and Practice from The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in Asian Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts from James Madison College at Michigan State University in International Relations.
Commissioner Stivers was appointed by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for a term expiring December 31, 2025.