Jessica is the Private Sector Initiatives Program Manager with Americans for the Arts. Prior to this position, she acted as the Membership and Resources Manager for the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO), providing oversight of NAO’s statewide membership program while curating and reinventing its online platform of nonprofit management best practice resources. Prior to NAO, Jessica spent nearly five years working with Portland’s local business committee for the arts, Business for Culture & the Arts (BCA), delivering programs that engaged employees from BCA’s 200+ business members, managing all marketing and communications strategies, and retaining and cultivating corporate and community partnerships. Jessica has also served in development roles at Metropolitan Youth Symphony and Literary Arts; and has freelanced as an independent web designer and developer.

Kelly graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2006 with a degree in Theatre, Film, and TV.  She worked as a stage manager and on run crews at the Curious Theatre Company and the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities. She decided to pursue a career in Arts Administration and attended graduate school at the University of Oregon. Upon graduating, she worked in the nonprofit sector as a development manager and director for seven years. She returned to the arts world in 2018, to lead the Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene.