Hello, I’m Jessica - I love helping people design their authentic life and career through my coaching and writing. I embody these practices in my own joyful multi-faceted life as a design strategist, systems change facilitator, artist, musician, community cultivator, and author of Finding Your Authentic Self: An Illustrated Journey to Well-being.

At my core, I am a curious life-explorer and creative spirit, seeking answers to the question: “How can we cultivate resilient and thriving systems - within ourselves and with each other?”

I have come to realize that this requires a deep understanding of well-being at the levels of the individual, organization, and community. As a result, I’ve immersed myself in topics spanning personal growth, philosophy, spirituality, systems thinking, human-centred design, and innovation. I express my experiences and learnings through my writing, art, and music, and I hope that what I share is helpful to fellow travellers on this journey.

I am a proud introvert (INFJ), multipotentialite, and second generation Chinese-Canadian.

My FAvourite Essays

a little More about me

In addition to being a coach and writer, I am also a senior advisor at the Canadian Digital Service, helping to improve public services across the country.

Prior to this, I was a systems change consultant at Reos Partners where I supported diverse groups of stakeholders to address pressing and deep-rooted societal challenges. I facilitated projects related to higher education, climate change, equity, economic development, and global security, including the Emergency Aid Lab.

Before that, I was a founding partner of Journey CX - an innovation consultancy enabling organizations to foster human-centered and agile culture from within. Passionate about bridging cultures, I co-founded Penyo Pal and SnapLingo - technology startups that have delivered language education to over 1 million users. I studied user experience design, business, and engineering, and began my career designing digital and service experiences at Google and Adaptive Path.

I am a certified enterprise coach in Integral Agile Transformation, with training in Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) and Positive Intelligence Coaching. I am also a practitioner of somatic and mindfulness techniques. My training has brought me to study at meditation centres including the Monastic Academy and Vipassana (Goenka).

I am honoured to have had my work and ideas featured by Financial Post, Forbes, Techvibes, and Betakit, and most recently on the podcasts Creative at the Wheel (hosted by creative coach Julie Claire) and Friend Futurism (hosted by author/community builder Bill Mei).

Organizations I've worked with

Some other things I’ve Been up to

  • Hosting community gatherings (Awaking Octopus, Coffeehouse, Soulhouse, Land & Community, Toronto Learning Night)

  • Released my first single Worth all the Years

  • Illustrated the book Human Work

  • Consulted the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on their national strategy for student equity

  • Facilitated the Emergency Aid Lab and scaled best practices nationally

  • Learned how to entrepreneur at Canada's Next 36

  • Co-authored a paper on stem cell bioreactor expansion research (Biotechnology Progress)

  • Featured F-Stop Travel Photographer

  • Was given some awards for working on cool things with a bunch of great people (Launch.co EDU "Best New Startup" Award, CIX "Canada's Top 20 Innovative Companies", IDEO.org Human-Centred Design Grant, International D&AD Yellow Pencil Finalist - Digital Design, Beijing Design Week Sustainability Award, HUB Ventures "Tech For Good" Startup Weekend - First Place)