A Brief Biography

Jessica Barnette, MBA, MPH, serves as the Director of Strategy & Operations for BioscienceLA. Jessica is a proven program management leader with experience leading strategic growth initiatives at startups & nonprofits in the health and technology sectors. Her background has focused on maximizing impact while designing systems to scale in high-growth, fast-paced environments, both domestically and internationally.

After graduating from Santa Clara University with a BA in Communications, Jessica spent two years with the Peace Corps in Ukraine, teaching English and helping to start a summer camp for HIV+ youth. She holds an MPH in Community Health Sciences from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. While at UCLA Anderson, Jessica received the school’s most prestigious student award, the John Wooden Global Leadership Fellowship, in recognition for her principles-based leadership and academic merit.

Previous experience includes supporting early-stage startups at the Cedars Sinai Accelerator and Startup Boost LA (now Founders Boost), consulting with digital health startups, and working with business leaders to grow and develop their social impact programs through the Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program at the UCLA Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Most recently, Jessica was directing the Los Angeles chapter of the national nonprofit, Back on My Feet, which uses the power of running, community support, and essential employment and housing resources to combat homelessness.

In her free time, you can find Jessica planning her next adventure (she's been to 50+ countries on 5 continents), running (she's a 12-time marathon finisher) or reading an ebook from the public library (she’s always looking for book recommendations).