NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Jessica is a Senior Advisor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and is the Director of SDSN TReNDS, the SDSN’s expert group on data. With SDSN TReNDS, Jessica’s research explores how new forms of data and technology can be harnessed to support sustainable development outcomes. TReNDS is particularly interested in building capacity in national statistical systems so they are able to capitalize on the data revolution.

 Jessica is a member of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data’s Technical Advisory Group and the Group on Earth Observation’s Expert Advisory Board. Having previously worked on sustainable urban development, she has also served as official liaison for the Scientific Steering Committee of the IPCC Conference on Cities and Climate Change. Prior to joining SDSN, Jessica served as a special adviser on the post-2015 agenda within the Office of the President of Liberia, supporting the work of The High Level Panel of Eminent Persons (of which President Sirleaf was co-chair) and the development of the Common African Position on the Post-2015 Agenda. She has also worked as a senior researcher at Save the Children UK, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA). Jessica is a current Doctoral Candidate at the University of Bristol.

She also holds a bachelor’s degree in modern history from the University of Oxford and a master’s degree in the Political Economy of Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She has lived and worked in Liberia, Kenya, Rwanda, the UK and the US.