Jess grew up in Malvern attending The Church of the Good Samaritan with her family. She was actively shaped by the children’s and student ministries she experienced here, particularly owning and growing in her faith through missional partnerships with The Free Church of St. John in Kensington, Philadelphia, and The Standing Rock Episcopal Community in North Dakota. It was a truly a “full circle” moment when she joined Good Sam staff in 2023.
Jess studied Youth Ministry and Missions/Anthropology at Eastern University and was a dedicated volunteer leader and intern with Good Sam Youth while earning her Bachelor’s Degree. After graduation she moved to the Standing Rock Reservation to join their student ministry team, eventually becoming the Acting Area Director with their Native Young Life program. After nearly ten years of work with the Standing Rock community, Jess took on a variety of roles at Evangel Assembly of God in Bismarck, ND, including coordinating their ministry internship program, assisting the young adult pastor, and acting as the interim Element Youth pastor. Most recently, Jess was the WyldLife (Middle School) Director with Scott County Young Life and Bridgewood Church in Prior Lake, Minnesota.
Returning “home” to Pennsylvania after many amazing years in the Midwest was a great leap of faith for Jess, and God’s timing and provision has been so sweetly shown in this season of calling her back to The Church of the Good Samaritan to fulfill a long lost adolescent dream of serving the Lord in the “house that built her” and first gave life to a ministry calling. When she’s not blasting worship music in her office here at Good Sam, you can find Jess visiting friends and many adopted nieces and nephews strewn across PA and the Midwest.