Jessica Shortall is currently building a diverse, bipartisan coalition of U.S.-based organizations that support harm reduction approaches in state and federal public policy and public health across drug use, tobacco, and sexual health. Perviously, she founded and led Texas Competes, a statewide coalition of more than 1,400 businesses promoting the economic case for fair treatment for LGBTQ people in the state of Texas and speaking against nearly 150 pieces of discriminatory legislation over the course of almost a decade. Jessica later launched America Competes, a national coalition based on the same model, and gave a 2017 SXSW keynote on building bridges and the rights of transgender people. From 2009-2014, she was the first Director of Social Innovation for TOMS Shoes, leading global social impact tied to the brand's shoe and eyewear lines.
Jessica is the author of Work. Pump. Repeat: The New Mom’s Survival Guide to Breastfeeding and Going Back to Work and a citizen advocate for working parents; her TEDx talk on the case for paid parental leave in the U.S. was a TED Talk Of The Day.
Before coming to Oxford, Jessica was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Uzbekistan and the Co-Founder of the nationally (U.S.) franchised non-profit food rescue and recovery organisation, The Campus Kitchens Project.
