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Most little girls had lemonade stands. Jessica, on the other hand, had jewelry stands.
Jessica grew up in San Antonio, Texas as the daughter and granddaughter of women who loved style and fashion. Some of Jessica's earliest memories are of digging through her grandmother's treasure trove of jewelry curated from adventures around the world.
She came home from the trip a bit of an activist. The girl who was once interested in jewelry and makeup held rallies at school to raise money for children in Kenya. After college, Jessica volunteered in Bolivia and Guatemala with Food for the Hungry. As she spent her days working with Bolivian Artisans discovering the vibrant markets of Guatemala, she saw what people could do for themselves with just a little bit of opportunity. She realized that entrepreneurship was a sustainable solution to poverty.
Somewhere along the way, Jessica rediscovered her joy in fashion and style. She began to dream of using fashion and design to create economic opportunity for vulnerable communities.
In 2010, Jessica and her husband Joe went on a trip to Uganda to visit friends who were serving at an orphanage. It was then that Jessica and her husband decided to grow their family through adoption. She hosted the first Noonday Collection Trunk Show as a fundraiser for her adoption from Rwanda – and the rest is history.
Today as Co-CEO of Noonday Collection, Jessica spends her days inspiring others to live lives of purpose. She travels across the United States and around the world, training Ambassadors to be stylists and storytellers and visiting Artisans to encourage them in their work. When she's off-duty, Jessica loves spending time with her husband Joe and their three kids, Amelie, Holden and Jack.
When I started Noonday Collection, one of the first things I noticed was that fashion crosses all cultural boundaries.
This summer when I visited the Artisans who create our paper bead jewelry in Uganda, one of the first things I noticed was their hair, featuring elaborate weaves and brightly colored braids. Earning a sustainable income means that not only can the women put their children in school – they can also go to a hairstylist!
When I travelled to Guatemala, I noticed that women were wearing traditional tops – called huipiles – adorned with embroidered birds. I had never seen this before! When I asked one of the Artisans about the bird motif, she basically replied that birds were latest trend in her village. No matter where you go, women love feeling beautiful and expressing themselves through style.
If you have fun with fashion and you want to make an impact in your community and around the world, we would love for you to host a Trunk Show Show or join as a Noonday Ambassador."
