Why FDJ Solutions?

Our mission is simple: We find solutions for our clients.

While others point out the problems and obstacles you are facing, we focus our energy and effort into helping our clients reach their goals.

Our unparalleled experience ranges from working on both chambers of Congress and holding senior-level positions at the highest levels of the executive branch, to the trenches of Presidential, Congressional, and local campaigns across the nation.

What We Do

Our capacity to deliver stems from a combined four decades of experience of working at the highest levels of government, politics, and public affairs.

This wide-ranging experience allows us to lend our expertise in the areas of government affairs, strategic communications, policy, political campaigns, and advocacy. Our ability to offer a broad spectrum of services enables us to craft well-rounded strategies that achieve our client’s goals through different fronts.

How We Do It

We present customized solutions to our clients that achieve their objectives in an efficient and comprehensive way.

Whether it’s guiding you through the complexities of the federal government, shaping public opinion through the media, or building winning campaigns, our team has the experience and strategic mindset needed to overcome any obstacle.

Our Team

Federico A. de Jesús

Founder and Principal

Federico A. de Jesús is the Founder and Principal of FDJ Solutions, LLC. De Jesús, a Washington, DC-based consultant, has worked for more than 17 years at the highest levels of government, communications, and politics. De Jesús was the national Communications Director for Hispanic Media in the Obama for America 2008 Presidential Campaign where he helped to secure close to 70% of the Latino vote. He later performed the same role in the Office of the President-elect. Subsequently, he served for 4 years as a political appointee in the U.S. Department of Transportation as Associate Director for Governmental Affairs, where he was able to successfully shepherd 4 White House appointees through the Senate confirmation process and represented DOT on various interagency task forces.

Prior to the Obama campaign, de Jesús worked for close to 8 years on Capitol Hill in several capacities. As the Director of Hispanic Communications in U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office, he helped craft the communications strategy during two crucial immigration reform legislative debates in 2006-07 and led the press operation during Sen. Reid’s first bi-partisan congressional delegation (CODEL) visit to Latin America as Majority Leader. De Jesús also served in a similar capacity for U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi for 3 years before that. In this role, he successfully helped to create and market the Compromiso Demócrata con el Pueblo Latino, which was the joint House/Senate Democratic agenda for Hispanic American families and was endorsed by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA). He also worked for Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), and for former Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner in Congress Aníbal Acevedo Vilá.

More recently, de Jesús served as Deputy Director of the Governor of Puerto Rico’s DC office, where he helped to manage over 20 employees in DC, NY, and FL representing the interests of Puerto Rico before Congress, federal agencies, state and local governments, as well as business and civil society actors. In this role, he succeeded in helping to include key provisions in the Senate Finance Committee’s staff discussion draft relating to the Commonwealth’s tax treatment, drafted and placed op-eds in key national publications, secured the filing of an amendment to the comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate to significantly boost resources in the fight against crime on the Island, and led other initiatives on behalf of the people of Puerto Rico. De Jesús is also the co-founder of BoricuActivatEd, and BoricuActívate, 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) groups respectively, that seek to empower, educate, and encourage civic engagement across the Puerto Rican Diaspora.

He has an M.A. degree in Social Enterprise from American University’s (AU) School of International Service, and a B.A. in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government (CLEG) from AU’s School of Public Affairs. As part of his M.A. program, de Jesús successfully completed a practicum project in which he consulted for Hungary’s National Innovation Office, leading a team of 3 student consultants to produce a report on how to maximize the use of crowd-funding in Hungary.

De Jesús appears regularly on Hispanic media & other outlets as a political commentator, and also remains active volunteering for several charitable causes, including: the Big Brother Big Sister Program of the National Capital Area, fundraising for disaster relief with the American Red Cross, and he currently serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) working with D.C. foster youth. De Jesús is a native of Puerto Rico and has been living in Washington, D.C. since 1999.

Camelia Pesquera Zambrana

Government Relations Associate

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Camelia has devoted her college career to the most pressing issues facing her Island. During her time as an undergraduate at American University majoring in Spanish/Latin-American Studies and minoring in Political Science, she’s leveraged an in-depth knowledge of public policy both inside and outside the classroom. Currently, Camelia is completing an combined B.A./Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in State and Local administration and public policy, at American University in Washington, DC. Camelia is also a certified Spanish and English translator. 

During her time working at the office of Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-7th) she focused on policy issues related to Puerto Rico and disaster relief. Additionally, Camelia has served as the Outreach Coordinator and President of American University’s Puerto Rican Student Organization (PRSO), thus allowing her to be an active member of the Puerto Rican diaspora community in DC. She has worked hand in hand with other diaspora organizations in DC to organize events related to the most important problems Puerto Rico faces. 

Camelia currently serves as a Government Relations Associate at FDJ Solutions, where she serves as a liaison between Congress and the organization.

Denise Lee

Grants Manager

Denise served for eight years in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where she worked in the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Youth Development, Prevention, and Safety Division as a program manager.

Her strengths are improving grants management systems and creating and managing funding streams. She gained extensive experience most recently as a reviewer of grant applications, selection official, and an award-maker.

Her experience has given her a unique perspective about what funders are looking for in applications to fund: clearly communicated program goals, objectives, and deliverables, as well as sufficiently detailed budgets. Denise worked collaboratively with grantees to build their administrative and programmatic capacity to enhance program performance.

Prior to her work with DOJ Denise served as a Legislative Aide in the office of former Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA), where she worked with congressional staff, members of Congress, and executive branch staff to track legislation, agency budgets, appropriations, and stakeholders’ opinions on public policy issues.  She served as the liaison to multiple stakeholders, including active community organizers in the south and central areas of Los Angeles.

Denise has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and an Undergraduate degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Ian Javier Pérez Zayas

Associate

Ian Javier Pérez Zayas is a freelance translator, editor, and writer with more than ten years’ experience working on literary, legal, and technical translations, from Spanish to English and vice-versa. He has also worked in various capacities for people and institutions such as Senator Harry Reid, where he served as a press intern; the first Barack Obama presidential campaign, where he worked as an organizing fellow and press intern; and Puerto Rico’s most prestigious university, working at the International Students and Self-Study offices. He possesses a B.A. in Information and Journalism from the University of Puerto Rico, and will be awarded a M.A. in Translation from that same institution in June 2019.

He has also worked in various capacities for people and institutions such as Senator Harry Reid, where he served as a press intern; the first Barack Obama presidential campaign, where he worked as an organizing fellow and press intern; and Puerto Rico’s most prestigious university, working at the International Students and Self-Study offices.

He possesses a B.A. in Information and Journalism from the University of Puerto Rico, and will be awarded a M.A. in Translation from that same institution in June 2019.

Ricardo A. Ramírez

Senior Advisor for Communications and Messaging 

With 13 years of communications work, Ricardo brings high-level experience in communications and messaging strategies for electoral campaigns and social justice efforts. Before launching Forward Shift Strategies, Ricardo served as director of democracy for ReThink Media, a nonprofit empowering social justice organizations across the country with communications strategies and capacity building. He was also a senior member of the communications team at Advancement Project’s national office, where he worked with organizations at the forefront of grassroots racial justice fights, including voting rights, immigrant rights and rights restoration. During his tenure with AP, he helped power communications strategies that resulted in thousands regaining the right to vote.
Ricardo got his start through years of work in political press offices, including the U.S. Senate and the Democratic National Committee, where he served as a regional press secretary as well as Latino communications director. He was an integral part of President Barack Obama’s successful 2012 campaign in Florida, where he led communications in the I-4 corridor. He also has ample experience with communications on immigrant justice.