Jess is the Executive Director of We Are Family Foundation, founded in 2002 by legendary music producer and multi-Grammy winner Nile Rodgers.  Nile amplifies musicians, the Foundation amplifies youth and are known as one of the leading international organizations powering the work of the most impactful and influential young people on the planet.  Two of their signature programs are - TEDxTeen, named one of the top 7 youth conferences by Entrepreneur Magazine, which trended #6 worldwide on twitter recently with over 400M impressions in 12 hours, has over 17M views, and over 150 countries around the world tune into the livestream. Three Dot Dash is a sought after incubator and accelerator for social entrepreneurs, with over 250 alumni affecting billions of people, working with over 200+ coalition partners and 250 influential Mentors including the likes of Kweku Mandela, Ross Bleckner and Luis Moreno Ocampo. Paper Magazine named her “Do-Gooder of the Year” and she has been

 

 

She is also the founder of Under the Acacia, an organization in Kenya that works in tandem with indigenous tribes in remote areas to implement a game changing model of sustainability and economic security.  Over 150,000 people currently rely on this model, and within the next 2 years once the final investment is complete, the community will conservativiy net proceeeds of over $100K a year - ensuring complete self reliance for generations to come. 

 

 

As a consult, she has been sought after as a producer and social content expert for TED Conferences, the Global Creative Leadership Summit and the United Nations.

She has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, CBS Radio, Paper Magazine, Elizabeth Street, Refinery29, Jetsetter, Fathom,  and Rank and Style and has spoken at numerous events including the United Nations, Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Arup Leadership Summit, TEDxTeen, Three Dot Dash Summit  and the We Are Family Foundation Gala.

In her previous life, she was a Director of Special Events at Vogue Magazine and spent a decade producing fashion shows for iconic brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Tom Ford.

Jess divides her time between New York City and Kenya. She is a black belt in Kung Fu.