She has more than 15 years of experience leading projects, partnerships and strategy, as well as designing services, programs and policies, in peak and statutory bodies and the not-for-profit and public sectors. Jess brings expertise in planning, transformation, stakeholder engagement, human-centred design and leadership. She has experience in healthcare and has worked across human services, justice, Indigenous affairs and humanitarian response.
Jess provided strategic and operational leadership across a five-year transformation at cohealth, a not-for-profit community health organisation, and led the organisation’s community partnerships, programs and strategies across Victoria. Before this, she led education and engagement reform at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
Jess has contributed to policy reviews with Victoria’s Department of Health and The Royal Women's Hospital and delivered sector capability-building initiatives with The Health Issues Centre and Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health.
Jess led international development efforts as a DFAT Youth Ambassador in Cambodia and built humanitarian response capability for Oxfam Australia. Earlier in her career, Jess led policy advocacy initiatives for peak bodies in youth, refugee and asylum seeker affairs.
Jess loves cooking, gardening, and camping with friends and family.