Jennie Araujo Slade didn’t enjoy running for the Republican nomination for Virginia’s 56th House of Delegates District. “It was a hellacious six-month journey that was absolutely terrible,” she says of her 2023 bid.
While Slade had a rough go of it, something positive came out of her campaign; she became chief of staff for Del. Thomas A. Garrett Jr., a rival for the nomination who was ultimately successful. Though Slade’s competitor, Garrett became something of a mentor to Slade through the process.
A native of Tampa, Florida, Slade moved to Henrico County while in high school. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University for a couple years before moving to Florida and obtaining an associate’s degree in digital photography. Returning to Virginia, Slade opened a photography studio on Main Street in 2006 that specialized in wedding and boudoir photography.
Slade sold the studio nine years later to be a stay-at-home mom. After a divorce, she returned to school in the interest of becoming a paralegal in 2018.
“I’ve always loved politics, and when I went back to school, I took a constitutional law class that I absolutely loved,” she says of her time at the University of Richmond, where she earned a bachelor’s in professional studies.
Slade eventually began working in fundraising for various causes, including the Rick Sharp Alzheimer’s Foundation, St. Andrews School, Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC, Virginia Senate Republican Caucus and various Republican state senators; she currently serves as director of development for the Virginia State Police Association and has raised funds for the Cartersville Volunteer Fire Department and the Cumberland County Public Schools Foundation on a volunteer basis.
After surviving a stroke due to a congenital heart defect, Slade became a session aide state Sen. Mark Peake in 2022. A graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership’s Political Leaders Program, Slade currently serves on Virginia’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Commission, the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, and the board of Goochland County Economic Development Authority.
When she’s not advocating for various causes, Slade enjoys spending time with her two daughters and crafting. She also co-owns Street Level Jiu-Jitsu in Goochland with her husband and holds a blue belt. A classically trained vocalist, Slade sings at Cartersville Baptist Church and performs at A Jazz Christmas each year at Second Baptist Church in Richmond.
