Jace Yarbrough - John Jay Fellow, Fall 2009
Jace Yarbrough is an Air Force veteran, lawyer, engineer, father of five, and may soon become the first John Jay alum to occupy a seat in Congress.
Yarbrough’s path to public service started years ago as an undergrad at the University of Texas, Austin, and then as a fellow with the John Jay Institute. As with so many fellows before and after, his time at John Jay opened him up to the beauty of Christian study and practice, as well as to his responsibility to engage the world around him.
“The John Jay Fellowship was life changing for me. It introduced me to Western Civilization’s rich Christian heritage and connected me with (what would become) life-long friends,” Yarbrough tells us.
“The John Jay Fellowship was life changing for me. It introduced me to Western Civilization’s rich Christian heritage and connected me with what would become life-long friends.”
After John Jay, Yarbrough joined the military, serving in the U.S. Air Force first as an engineer and then as a flight commander, continuing as an officer in the Air Force Reserves after his retirement from active duty. Meanwhile, he never lost sight of his calling as a lawyer, eventually studying at Stanford Law School, where he led the law school’s chapter of the Federalist Society and was a Blackstone Fellow with Alliance Defending Freedom. Since then, he has practiced law in Dallas, TX, where he has sought to defend the traditional rights of people and businesses from overreach by both public and private actors.
Along the way, he and his wife, Elizabeth, founded Saint Francis Academy, which he describes as “a classical Christian school that reflects their shared passion for shaping the next generation.”
Yarbrough’s close involvement in the intersection of law, business, and government turned out to be a proving ground for his leap into electoral politics. On March 3, 2026, he won the Republican nomination to represent Texas’s 32nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives and is now in the home stretch to Election Day.
Reminiscing on his time as a John Jay Fellow and to the conversations and friendships enjoyed there, Yarbrough acknowledges, “It’s the reason I joined the Air Force and the reason I’m running for Congress. Its impact on my life really cannot be overstated.”
“It’s the reason I joined the Air Force and the reason I’m running for Congress. Its impact on my life really cannot be overstated.”
Almighty Providence and Texas voters will determine Yarbrough’s next chapter, but if he’s given the opportunity to represent TX32 in Washington, DC, he will soon be walking hallways already abounding with John Jay alumni. While the John Jay Institute is a non-partisan organization, we are excited that our alumni remain inspired by the service-oriented ideals of their time in the fellowship. As the Institute plants seeds, we are grateful for the fruit being shown by Jace Yarbrough and so many of our alumni across the country.
