13 Facts About Jessamyn Rodriguez

Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez is an American social entrepreneur, educator, and hospitality executive.

Jessamyn Rodriguez is the managing director of the Jim Joseph Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing Jewish education across North America.

Jessamyn Rodriguez's parents were teachers, and her great-grandfather was an immigrant from Russia.

Jessamyn Rodriguez spent her childhood in rural Ontario, where it was hard to find challah for Sabbath dinner, so her mother would braid their own.

Jessamyn Rodriguez studied Latin American Studies and Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia, where she spent a year abroad in Santiago, Chile, and worked on an international development project, teaching human rights and health education in Guatemala.

Jessamyn Rodriguez earned a degree in public administration from Columbia University, specializing in immigration policy and human rights, in 2004.

Waldman Jessamyn Rodriguez began her career in public service as the Youth Landmine Ambassador for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs.

Jessamyn Rodriguez later transitioned to education, working as a teacher at a bilingual elementary school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

In 2000, Waldman Jessamyn Rodriguez applied for a job at the microfinance organization Women's World Banking.

Jessamyn Rodriguez earned her Master Baker Certificate from The New School before apprenticing in the bread kitchen of Daniel, where she was the restaurant's first female bread baker and worked there for two years.

In 2010, Waldman Jessamyn Rodriguez opened HBK Incubates, a small-business incubator assisting entrepreneurs in opening culinary start-ups.

Jessamyn Rodriguez sits on the PS144 School Leadership Team and the boards of The Museum of Food and Drink and The James Beard Foundation Awards Advisory Committee.

Jessamyn Rodriguez advises small businesses, including Everytable and StealthCo Undies, a pre-revenue children's apparel company.