Jess has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years. A graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School, she stayed in the Boston area to raise a family but has relocated to New York City, her hometown.

Her primary legal specialty (with the Boston office of Mintz Levin, a regional law firm) has been tax-free financing projects for non-profit organizations and governments.

She trained in general mediation, divorce mediation, and negotiation skills with Mediation Works, Inc. in Boston and served on its District Court mediation panel for landlord/tenant, small claims and civil jury cases, mediating in Newton and Quincy District Courts for Mediation Works, Inc. and in Waltham District Court for Middlesex Mediation/MCC Law Center. She received advanced elder/adult family mediation training, including intensive post-training, from Elder Decisions.

She is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution and the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, for which she currently is co-chair of the Committee on Mediation Subcommittee on Quality Improvement.