Chief Executive OfficerChicago Ideas Week
Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Ideas Week
Co-Director, Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship
Jessica is the Executive Director of Chicago Ideas, a year-round global platform for leading ideas, innovations and grassroots movements. Co-chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Founded by Groupon Co-Founder Brad Keywell, CIW puts on enlightening, intellectual programming that fosters cross-industry collaboration, draws 35,000 attendees and sparks national dialogue on a range of topics. In addition to leading Chicago Ideas, Jessica is the Co-Director of the Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship, which annually selects a small group of social entrepreneurs from a pool of over 250 applications globally. Fellows have the opportunity to speak at Chicago Ideas Week, connect and collaborate with notable business leaders, and receive a non-discretionary gift of $10,000 each to be used towards their organizational goals.
Jessica is a Disruptor Foundation Fellow through the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards. In her free time she sits on the Board of Directors of Embarc, which is an organization that designs cultural experiences for students in at-risk communities in the City of Chicago. Additionally, she has led several projects related to violence prevention nationally and locally. Jessica lives in Chicago with her husband Josh and her three daughters Josie, Blake, and Scarlett.