Jessie works with faculty and students across divisions to design, implement and assess innovative, effective and equitable learning experiences. Her collaborations and practice focus on design thinking, community-based learning, and leveraging learning science to improve access, inclusion and student outcomes.
Prior to joining the University of California Santa Cruz, Jessie was the Director of the First Year Experience (FYE) Program at Colorado College where she oversaw the interdisciplinary FYE and First Year Mentoring programs and received the Exemplary Achievement in Community Engaged Teaching Award (2015). She has also taught at Rice University and the University of Virginia.
Jessie is a faculty member in the Writing Program and at Merrill College, and affiliated faculty in Global and Community Health. She was a 2022-2023 Fulbright Scholar working on a Global Challenges Teaching Award focused on the topic of Pandemics. Her co-edited volume, Teaching Environmental Justice: Practices to Engage Students and Build Community is forthcoming from Edward Elgar in 2023.