Her identities as the daughter of Kenyan immigrants and a Black American woman deeply inform her community-based practice. Her work primarily focuses on deep vulnerability; using meditation and creative practices as methods of awakening consciousness. Jessica blends dharma, ancestral wisdom and poetics to decenter European thought frames and lead herself and others toward liberation.

With over 400-hours of training, she has taught for BRIC, Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, Dia Arts Foundation, Google, SELF Magazine, SHAPE Magazine, theSkimm and more. Jessica was a 2019 Create Change Fellow at The Laundromat Project and a 2023 More Art Engaging Artist Fellow. She serves as Deputy Training Director at Arena, is a member of North Star Fund’s Community Funding Committees and holds an MA in Arts Politics from New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Jessica lives in Brooklyn, NY on unceded Lenape territory with her cat and her books. In her free time, you can find her enjoying neighborhood green spaces and gardens.

You can regularly read Jessica’s work at slowlyslowy.substack.com.