About Jess

In April 2019, I booked an Airbnb farm tour experience just outside of Nashville, a break from our agenda filled family vacation and the city’s constant energy. We drove through rolling tobacco fields and winding back roads until we reached a quiet Tennessee town. Our guide, a lifelong local, led us to a no-frills diner, cafeteria-style with metal trays, collard greens and fried green tomatoes. We drank sweet tea in styrofoam cups.

As we settled into our table, I was asked what I did for work.

And I paused.

I’d spent two decades leading digital and social media for some of the world’s biggest brands (Microsoft, Qualcomm, Adidas, & Nestle). But in that moment, I felt uneasy saying it out loud.

It felt complicit.

Like I was part of something that had gotten off course.

That year, social media usage was averaging two hours a day. Half of young adults in the U.S. were online almost constantly. Cyberbullying was up. The suicide rate for high school girls had increased by 65% since 2010. The very platforms that once promised connection were now fueling comparison, anxiety, and division.

I looked outside at those tobacco fields.

I changed the subject. But I didn’t forget the feeling.

That was the moment I knew it was time to write a new chapter.