Teacher
For more than a decade, Jessica has worked as a teacher with students in middle school, high school, and university in the U.S., Thailand, and Cambodia. Starting in 2015, she has taught history and civics to immigrants and refugee students from more than 30 countries in a large, urban public high school in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Author
Jessica has authored books on American society and education. She wrote Driving Backwards, a non-fiction portrait of small-town America, and co-authored Powerful Partnerships about family engagement in schools. Her third book, Making Americans, on immigrant education, will be published by Beacon Press in Fall 2022.
Advocate
Jessica advocates for students in and out of school and teaches her students to become advocates as well. She collaborates with educational leaders and policy makers to develop educational materials, programs and laws. She has written extensively on issues related to education policy and classroom pedagogy.
