Jess' work focuses on supporting self-efficacy and deepening presence as foundational to collective justice and liberation.

This has taken many forms over the past two decades. Jess has held leadership roles in top philanthropies, UN agencies, and social justice organizations around the world. She is a dynamic speaker across global stages, a sought-after speechwriter, and social change strategist. She has coached and mentored hundreds, from early-career to executive-level, to find and amplify their authentic voices. Jess’ recent work has centered on contemplative practice, finding joy in embodiment, and deepening connection to the natural world.

Jess was born exactly on her due date in the heart of NYC, the middle of 3 girls.

She is the descendent of hearty witches, druid priestesses, and survivors from across Ireland, Germany, and other unknown lands. She carries an illuminating energy that allows her to plumb the depths of darkness while viewing the holographic truth of reality with a wicked sense of humor.

Jess studied religion and philosophy on academic scholarship as an undergraduate, where she fell in love with the French mystic Simone Weil and did an independent study on Suffering.

She lived for a year in Spain, and has since visited nearly 50 countries. Jess completed graduate work in Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School, during which she was awarded a grant to spend several months living and working with Tibetan Buddhist nuns in remote northern India, focusing on health literacy and self-sufficiency. This led her out of the academy and into reproductive justice.

In 2007, she joined Planned Parenthood as a storyteller of abortion access in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and on the weekends served as an abortion counselor at an NYC clinic.

Later, as a board member for an abortion fund, she continued her work to affirm and hold space for those seeking agency in the face of stigma and oppression. She is a fierce advocate for gender liberation and justice, and roots for womxn, always. In recent times, her advocacy for reproductive justice has expanded into the birth world, holding space for the many wild experiences of womb bearers and painting placentas.

In 2012, she moved to Bangkok on a one-way ticket, cut and bleached her hair, and spent much of the next 15 months riding around on the back of a motorcycle while working for the United Nations. Jess regularly seeks physical, spiritual, and emotional experiences to challenge and refine her power, and she shape shifts and alchemizes rhythmically.

Jess is a meditation and yoga teacher, and Tibetan Buddhist practitioner.

She is a lifelong student and practitioner of dharma, especially as it relates to the womb, death and dying, plants and the natural world, and anything edge, liminal, or wacky. She is based in Los Angeles with her husband, small son, dog, and many, many happy houseplants.

Work with Jess

  • Gratitude to all my teachers + mentors who are far-reaching + multi-bodied.

    Buddhism + Meditation

    Master of Theological Studies, Buddhist Studies, Harvard Divinity School

    Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy + Religion, Boston University

    200-hour Mindfulness Teacher Certification + years of study, Shambhala NYC

    Study + refuge vows with Dr. Shante Paradigm Smalls

    Ongoing study with Lama Rod Owens, including Seven Homecomings certification + membership of Bhumisparsha sangha

    Vedic Meditation initiation with Patti Quintero

    Grief + Spaceholding

    Abortion counselor, Planned Parenthood of New York City

    Bereavement Doula, The Miscarriage Doula

    Death Doula training, Sacred Crossings; ongoing study on death + dying with Upaya Zen Center, Shoji, Pure Land Farms (Death and Dying in the Vajrayana Tradition with Lama Justin Von Bujdoss), Bill Berry, +Erin Mirelli.

    Writing + Creativity

    Writing workshops with Melissa Febos, Lidia Yuknavitch, + Margo Steines

    Study with Alexandra Roxo on sacred femininity + creative embodiment

    Yoga + Movement

    Classical ballet + Irish Step Dance training

    200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification, Y7 Studio(RYT 2022)

    Trauma + Embodied Social Justice in Yoga, Collective Resilience

    Inspired Sequencing, Y7 Studio

    Katonah Yoga intensive, Abbie Galvin of The Studio

    Embodied Prenatal: The Art of Holding Space, Y7 Studio (Amanda Valdes)

    Senior Fitness Specialist, American College of Exercise

    Social Justice + Equity

    Funders for Reproductive Equity, Population Works Africa, Adaway Group, Thousand Currents, The Management Center, + Midwest Academy