Jess McDonald

Jess McDonald is an experienced educator, service provider, and program coordinator based in Durham, NC. They are interested in efforts to disrupt unjust systems and increase access for marginalized people seeking resources that are critical to their health and well-being. They hold an M.Ed. in Social Justice Education with a focus in intergroup dialogue from UMass Amherst. Jess currently works at the Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research at Duke University and is a member of Triangle Health Educational Consultants. They formerly served as the Advocate Program Coordinator at the Community Empowerment Fund and a Tzedek Social Justice Fellow at Our VOICE.

Jess is committed to building community across difference and centering self-awareness as a part of transformative work to undo systems of oppression. They have put their expertise in facilitating intergroup dialogue to work as an instructor at UMass Amherst and North Carolina Governor's School East. Prior to graduate school, Jess served LGBTQIA+ college students across the country on staff at Campus Pride. Some of their writing can be found in A Critical Inquiry into Queer Utopias and the Honors Theses Collection at Elon University.

Jess's work follows in the rich legacy of Southern organizers resisting white supremacy and gender oppression while striving to redefine concepts like home and family in the spirit of resilience and liberation.