Coming out of applied educational roles in ecology and conservation with Missouri’s Department of Conservation and Department of Natural Resources, Jessica matriculated to the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she earned her Master's Degree in Agricultural Education and Extension Services in 2012 and her PhD in Agricultural Education and Leadership in 2015. Her focus included program development, adult learning theory, student engagement and teaching best practices. Jessica joined University of Missouri Extension in 2016 as the Curriculum and eLearning Specialist to provide support to the organization. Jessica assumed Canvas administration responsibilities in February of 2017 and completed a post-doctoral Online Educator Certificate from the MU School of Information Science and Learning Technologies in 2018.