Obsessed with scaling emotional health since 2008. Evangelist about the power of language to build relationships.
About Jess.
2004 - 2008
I start college as a writing major, wanting to change the world through narrative journalism. I notice a strength for writing about the human experience and naming behavioral patterns, so I switch to a Psychology degree and instantly find the research, frameworks, and language I crave. I discover my mission.
I consider a therapist track but am discouraged by the mental health industry’s barriers. I want to help more than ONE person at a time (IF they can afford it, IF they can find me). I reflect on being a child of immigrants negotiating basic needs and dreams because of cost. I decide the world needs a bigger reach.
I choose to help people who help people. I develop successful programs for nonprofits, working with underserved and trauma-surviving populations. I create an art-therapy based mentoring program for teen survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. It becomes the hero program for the agency and creates a life-saving bridge between teens and counselors. I integrate therapy-based frameworks into tutoring programs for LGBTQ teens at risk of failing school, leading to a 97% retention rate with historically resistant students. I teach intergenerational and culture-informed emotional development courses to hundreds of adult volunteers based on observation and feedback.
I discover a deep passion and skill for naming emotions accurately, identifying learning styles to design impactful curriculum, recognizing trauma responses to create safe response systems, motivating resistant audiences, and demystifying complex topics into simple, memorable frameworks.
2008 - 2019
In the fall of 2019, I launch a emotion-focused journaling curriculum based on interdisciplinary counseling frameworks after a successful 2018 pilot. There is a gap in the industry at the time, with therapists and wellness experts recommending journaling as a mental health tool but offering no additional tools to navigate triggering, traumatic, and complex emotions while journaling.
The curriculum takes off when the pandemic hits, leaving millions of traumatized people stuck at home with their emotions, unable to find or afford therapists. I teach emotional language and tools. I am invited to teach by colleges and corporate partners such as Squarespace and Sephora, and provide coaching to those in therapy but still needing tools to navigate deeper emotional conflict.
Still hungry to go bigger, still disappointed at the current systems of coaching and online tools, I learn Instructional Design. Still wanting to help people help people, I help coaches design impactful courses that reflect their expertise and learning objectives. I help entrepreneurs focused on social justice and equity write website copy and refine their product and value propositions.
2019 - 2021
Still seeking to help people help people, I join early stage startups with a mission to bring education, access, and community to everyone in need. I offer my extensive knowledge of human behavior, therapy-designed experiences, and motivational content architecture to projects aimed at helping people grow. I workshop business development and content strategy with social-impact focused entrepreneurs on the side. Today, I am a consultant at Luminary Labs, focusing on innovation in mental health. I bring superb product and project management skills after years of managing complex projects and relationships.
On a similar mission? Let’s connect.
2021 - Now