ABOUT JESS
Wife, mom, former improv comedian and acclaimed speaker on a mission to help people and teams champion change in the workplace.
As an improv comedian, one of the first rules you learn is “yes, and…” It's the idea that you accept whatever is in front of you, and then you build on it. With this, something special happens: you begin to create space for the unexpected and experience working with the mindset of endless possibility.
What started as a foundation for comedy has become a core value that shaped so much of what I do. Improv didn’t just teach me how to perform. It taught me how to become a true champion of change.
THE LONGER STORY
It all started at a local talent show.
My first stage performance was singing "Girls with Guitars" (a Wynonna Judd classic) at a local talent show in elementary school. I spent weeks preparing and practiced until I had every word and dance move memorized. I didn't miss a single beat!
From that performance on, I chased every opportunity to entertain: karaoke, school plays, cracking jokes to anyone who would listen. But it wasn’t until high school that I found the thing that would shape everything that came after: improv comedy.
While working as a ghost tour guide (yes, really), I was invited to audition for a local improv troupe. I joined a few weeks later and was hooked.
Improv comedy felt like stepping into a world where my only limits were the depths of my imagination and the courage to let it out.
That passion led me to New York City, where I trained at the New York Academy for Dramatic Arts. I studied acting and comedy with some of the best in the industry. I performed in live shows, juggled multiple side jobs, and even landed an off-Broadway role. My path felt clear and I was all in!
Then life threw me a curveball.
A serious health diagnosis forced me to step away from performing. Everything that I had dreamed of and worked towards suddently changed.
In many ways, this was the moment I first became my own champion of change. I stayed connected to what mattered, leaned into uncertainty, and committed to moving forward.
Since then, I’ve worked across industries and roles, led large-scale training programs, coached hundreds of people, and supported organizations through many transformations.
Today, I’m on a mission to help people and teams learn the skills to become their own champions of change, starting in the workplace.