About Me

Jess

About Me

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At Tree of Life, Disney, 2023

First ride with Secretariat's grandson, first time on a horse, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2012

Quebec City Trip, 2016

My career has been shaped by operating inside some of the world’s most consequential systems. From roles connected to the DoD to AI-related development at Amazon, I have worked at the intersection where technology, power, and human decision-making collide. Those experiences shaped the way I think about institutions, systems, and the mechanisms of power that quietly shape human lives. I've spent much of my life exploring a question that continues to fascinate me: what allows people to remain fully human, creative, and alive amid forces far larger than themselves?

At the same time, my perspective has also been deeply influenced by years of spiritual practice. I think that one of the greatest challenges of our time is not only the systems surrounding us, but the quiet internal surrender that can happen within. I’ve become increasingly interested in how one can preserve one's inner spark and internal sovereignty within complex systems, and how that can sometimes reshape the systems.

My current creative works explore these questions. They are informed both by my own journey of inner healing and by witnessing community trauma, resilience, and the possibility of transformation. My creative background is rooted in visual media, journalism, and film production. I’ve worked with the Sundance Award-winning Part2 Pictures, co-produced independent short films and digital film projects, and appeared in a commercial campaign for a major global tech company. I grew up between East Asian and European environments shaped by very different family histories, and have lived across cities in Asia, Europe, and the United States. I’ve long been drawn to themes of identity, and personal reinvention, especially those turning points where a person, place, or unexpected insight changes the course of someone’s life forever.

Sometimes, one line from a person, or from a book, is all it takes.

I’ve had a few such moments in my own life. Studying at Columbia University challenged many assumptions I had inherited growing up and deepened my understanding of identity, history, and personal narratives. It also led me to revisit parts of my own family history, including how the Cultural Revolution reverberated across generations. That experience left me fascinated by the ways larger historical forces can shape an individual's inner life, and how a single story, conversation, or insight can sometimes alter the direction of a life. I remember hearing a family friend speak about publishing the European edition of The Alchemist, and how readers would write to her saying the book had given them the courage to make changes they had postponed for years. I've always been drawn to moments like that—when an idea, a story, or a person arrives at exactly the right time and quietly changes someone's trajectory.

Today, I deeply value the cross-disciplinary foundation I’ve built. I’m currently in a feedback and development phase, and grateful for thoughtful conversations and collaborations along the way.

~ Jess, May 2026

An evening at the British Deputy Ambassador’s Residence, 2026