Jessie comes to RPA to launch and run the new energy policy program. She specializes in urban-regional policy and planning, with a particular focus on sustainability and energy policy. Most recently, she worked as a cluster specialist at Economic Competitiveness Group working on competitiveness strategies for global city-regions, particularly the clean-tech sector. Clients included the Inter-American Development Bank (project in Mendoza, Argentina), United Nations Development Programme (project in Southeastern Anatolia Turkey), Marin County Supervisors, and The Oakland Partnership.

In 2007, she completed her Masters at the London School of Economics Masters in Environment and Development Studies. She was subsequently selected as a Sustainability Fellow to work at Oregon's Portland Development Commission, reporting to PDC's first Sustainability Manager. Jessie assisted with the development of PDC's sustainability plans (both external and internal) and authored a Business Case for Green Building focused on lagging developers. Jessie completed her Masters thesis (with honors) entitled "Producing the Green Entrepreneurial City: Oregonian Competitive Strategies via Sustainable Industry Clusters."

Additionally, her projects have required building the institutional capacity of clients and, often as a prerequisite, creating stronger stakeholder consensus. Jessie's work helps to foster effective public/private partnerships that enhance the sustainability and economic competitiveness of city-regions in measurable ways.

Jessie has led or facilitated a variety of research projects, stakeholder meetings and other events in order to mobilize leadership. This has often required her to broker compromises on strategies which aim to address long-standing economic and ecological constraints. Jessie has helped various public sector agencies to reorient their service offerings as part of a larger effort to meet the needs of the private sector.

Originally from San Rafael California, she holds a BA from Vassar College in Urban Studies and Hispanic Studies.