ABOUT JESSIE
Advocate, Educator, Volunteer
Around Town
Jessie's professional career has centered around two life-long passions: advocacy and education. She was elected to Town Meeting in 2008 and School Committee in 2009. During her first two terms on the Lexington School Committee, Jessie has focused on improving accountability and transparency. She has supported partnerships between parents and schools, encouraged community engagement, and found creative ways to solve problems.
Jessie joined Lexington's 300th Anniversary Town Celebration Committee and served as a Co-Chair for Events. She coordinated multiple events, and wrote and directed the production of Breeches, Bloomers, & Bellbottoms: Oh My! celebrating the past three hundred years of textiles and fashion in Lexington. At the conclusion of the Tercentennial, Jessie wrote the book We Are Lexington: Celebrating 300 Years.
In 2013 Jessie was appointed to the Lexington Council for the Arts. The Council helps award grant funds to promote local artists and creates opportunities for residents to access the arts in Lexington.
Education and Early Career
Originally from Staten Island, New York, Jessie's first school setting was a cooperative daycare center. Her mother, Corinne, taught and eventually directed the school. Jessie attended P.S. 54 in Staten Island until third grade. Jessie then moved to Stamford, Connecticut, where she attended public schools through her graduation from Westhill High School. She then studied American History and Visual & Environmental Studies at Harvard College, graduating in 1990, and graduated from Cornell Law School with a concentration in Advocacy in 1993.
As a lawyer, Jessie helped people who could not afford legal representation, including clients of Greater Boston Elderly Legal Services, where she conducted outreach to nursing home residents. Jessie later worked as an administrator at Harvard University, training and supporting over 400 students who volunteered in Cambridge public schools as tutors and mentors.
Since 1998, Jessie has worked at home and served as a community volunteer. Her projects have included creating and licensing educational resources for children to inspire creativity and early literacy in preschoolers. She has been a volunteer in the Lexington public schools for 14 years. Jessie credits her family and the exceptional teachers who nurtured her interest in comunity service and advocacy.
