As a recent professional in education, and now a leader in the business realm, Jessica is doing her part to connect business and education together through her marketing efforts at a local community bank. After seven years teaching special education in two different school districts, and following the completion of her Masters degree in Education Leadership, Jessica’s eyes were opened to the many gaps that exist in the current educational system, specifically in regard to students with behavioral and learning needs. She wanted to do more and make a difference, and felt that within the walls of the classroom, she was confined to fitting in a “box” rather than being allowed to work outside of it to make learning efficient and effective for the students she served. She needed a change and realized that taking a step back from the current environment she was in would be crucial not only to her overall growth as a leader and innovator, but crucial to her overall mission to help others and share her passion for children and community.

Jessica was provided a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop a Marketing Department at a local community bank. With such a shift in careers, many have asked what made her come to this decision. The answer was simple. This position not only provides her an opportunity to develop partnerships between a financial institution and the educational community, but it allows her to help many different groups of people. Additionally, SSB Bank’s values and mission, along with their community focus and passion for educating individuals about the financial industry, made this organization the perfect fit for her. Through her work at SSB Bank thus far, Jessica has developed partnerships with local charities, local schools, and local organizations geared toward educating individuals in different capacities.

Along with her professional work, Jessica is a full-time coach and volunteer for a non-profit called Change the Game. Change the Game’s mission and focus is to initiate the momentum for change through active movement and engagement in the community as a team. This occurs through community service opportunities, physical engagement in outdoor activities and team leadership development. The team includes four coaches and twelve 11th and 12th graders from local schools in the Pittsburgh area. Jessica enjoys the opportunity to work with the kids to inspire learning and development through real-life experiential opportunities in addition to the learning that is provided in the classroom setting.

Overall, Jessica’s passion for education and her desire to evoke change and fill the gaps between community stakeholders aligns perfectly with Remake Learning’s mission. She also believes that Remake Learning can serves as a phenomenal resource for providing financial education to local institutions in our neighboring communities. Jessica looks forward to being an active member of the Remake community not only through corporate partnership, but also be personally investing her knowledge and her experience in education into the current conversations related to future educational policy change and workforce development.