Jessica grew up surrounded by nature in the Rocky Mountains. She studied sculpture and Japanese at Scripps College and after graduation traveled solo for a year in Japan, Thailand, Laos, and India on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study and illustrate folk tales. She brought a set of travel watercolors on that trip and has been a devoted travel sketcher and plein air painter ever since. Today Jessica aims to help young readers discover the beauty and diversity of their world by creating picture books that are inspiring, accessible, and memorable. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her daughter and cat.