Jessica was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and a minor in Elementary Reading Education. Upon graduating she moved to Perth, Western Australia. While abroad she worked with young refugee students who were participating in a school setting for the very first time. This experience led Jessica to expand her thinking toward conventional ideas of education. She found creative ways to intertwine the traditional curriculum of letters, numbers and colors with the fundamental aspects and social norms of life in Australia. 

Jessica, her husband Tristan and three children Jonah, Milla and Hollis have lived in Crozet since 2015. In that time, Jessica worked for several years as a reading fluency volunteer at Brownsville Elementary School and is currently a preschool teacher at St Paul’s Ivy Preschool. As a tutor, she works with all ages in literacy, writing and math. She is passionate about helping even the youngest students find confidence that will help lead to a lifelong love of learning.