Early Life & Education
Jason was born in South Bend to his parents Michael and Rhonda Critchlow. Michael is a former union steelworker and retired South Bend Police officer, and Rhonda works in healthcare. His parents instilled in him the value of hard work and the importance of always giving back to your community.
A 2000 Washington High School graduate, Jason was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s Degree in General Math & Science and a minor in Sociology while working full time.
Jason and his wife, Olivia received their Master’s of Public Administration at Indiana University South Bend, while working full time. Their oldest child, Max, was born during their last semester.
Career
While earning his degrees, Jason worked in various full-time roles at the South Bend Medical Foundation and Memorial Hospital of South Bend (now Beacon Health System). Jason is currently a Senior Project Manager for the Sarah Cannon Research Institute where he is responsible for the administration and leadership of a multi-disciplinary global project team.
In September 2013, at the age of 31, Jason was unanimously elected as St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairman and was re-elected without opposition in 2017. The role of Party Chair is a volunteer unpaid position.
As Chairman, Jason worked to empower and elevate good people to do great things. He worked with elected officials and community leaders to help drive progress towards a dynamic future for the community in which we all live and love.
Jason has built his reputation through hard work, consensus-building, and fair practices. He has supported the development of grassroots leaders, powerful infrastructure that can win elections, and advocacy support to ensure policies that help working families across St. Joseph’s County.
The party has recruited more candidates, helped foster diversity in leadership positions, elected more Democrats and deepened its relationship with communities across the County. In announcing his candidacy for Mayor, Jason resigned as Chairman.