Jessica Kristine Navedo
Collective problems require collaborative solutions.
Leadership and communication professional seeking a team position delivering high impact projects which transform the world. My objective is to create a more equitable and fantastic future through collaboration and excellence in the use of my diverse skills and vision, namely through technology innovation, systems thinking, program development or participatory design methods.
Vision-driven and excited by the possibilities problems present, I enjoying high-intensity deadline-driven work developing meaningful projects with interdisciplinary teams. I approach emergent patterns in nuanced data with big-picture systems thinking, steering diverse teams toward innovative goals by creating consensus, inspiration, and ownership through interpersonal relationship development and project management expertise.
Curriculum Vitae
June 2019 – March 2020
Instructor; Economics and Ecology: Emergent Approaches to Holistic Resource Management
Seeking solutions to planetary crisis, I developed a 300-level course during my undergraduate degree at Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies (Western Washington University). I presented my curriculum to two separate committees in a stringent approval process so that it could be offered in Western’s official course catalog Winter 2020.
Using a systems thinking lens, the curriculum surveys Neoclassical Economic theory, a deconstruction of History, Indigenous Studies, Participatory Design, Appropriate Technologies, and Ecological Literacy. A primary intention of this course was to bring a deeply informed abstract understanding into pragmatic and actionable final projects. Stemming from my passion for transformational change, it was important that my students were informed, empowered, and prepared to take inspired action.
The course syllabus can be found here.
TASK: Develop in students a critical understanding of economic theory and policy, ability to think in systems, and tools for designing resource allocation and distribution appropriate to people and place.
SKILLS: Independently research, design and deliver engaging course content and experience. PowerPoint presentation. Curation of guest speakers. Evaluation of student performance using narrative feedback.
OUTCOMES: Students demonstrated understanding of course content as exemplified in unique and exciting final projects in regenerative solutions and innovative design. Transdisciplinary mastery of economics and ecology proven through ability to teach at university 300-level.
May 2019 – current
Lead Collaborative Researcher
Technology is a powerful force, shaping our world. The way technologies are designed deeply impact our relationships, understanding, and power dynamics. I took a course in WWU’s Computer Science Department called Design for Social Good so that I could interact with the culture which is driving and designing technology. My ability to research and empathize in the context of technology implementation resulted in my recruitment to a research team developing strength-based technologies supporting individuals with autism where I’ve embarked on an accelerated path to publication and contribution to an emergent field.
This project intersects with my passion for (dis)ability rights, technology innovation, cultural stories, and questions around communication styles and methods. See more on this and other technology projects here.
TASK: Steer the development of technology implementation guidelines to empower strengths in individuals with autism.
SKILLS: Design and execute remote focus group and interview sessions, building rapport with participants through participatory design methods. Recruited due to independent work in relevant domains. Quickly emerged as thought leader on project, now directing literature reviews and research team meetings for data analysis. Primary author on research papers. Navigation of academic research approval processes.
OUTCOMES: First research paper accepted into publication within six months of project launch. Represented WWU by presenting research poster at ASSETS 2019. Funding for future research awarded.
July 2009 – August 2014
FusionBeads.com
FusionBeads.com was an online beading and jewelry making retailer with a massive and meticulous inventory. My job at Fusion was expansive, interacting with every department in the company. I developed processes, procedures, and systems which supported excellence and growth during my five years with them. This required incredible communication sensibilities, data management, craftsmanship, technical proficiency, and leadership. A sense of popular culture and innovation along with an intergenerational respect helped me engage the public in a way which supported the growth of the company during my time with them. I loved how our sales and service successes were typically based on delivering a sense of creative confidence and empowerment to the women we supported.
TASK: Develop and manage Customer Support Department for growing online retailer. Build and maintain company brand image in all customer-facing communications including social media, email, phones.
SKILLS: Track, identify, and resolve issues in product supply, warehouse operations, or shipping. Ensure sustainable growth through close work with web development teams, Director of Operations, and Creative/Marketing Department. Oversee all customer-facing communications. Hire and train team members, growing department 250%. Employee review documentation and delivery. Interpersonal communications training design and facilitation across departments.
TECHNICAL: NetSuite backend expertise. Advanced Outlook email service management, several inboxes. UX testing. Authorship of technical manual outlining website operations. Marketing copywriting. Social media platform management and analytics reporting (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Multichannel phone systems maintenance and management. Data management primarily using MS Office Suite.
OUTCOMES: Fusion established a dedicated customer base due to an exceptional service and product reputation, transitioning from a small- to mid-sized company during the time of my employment.
September 2014 – March 2020
Academic Development
My academic journey began with a desire to create a higher degree of altruistic impact. I quickly developed an appetite spanning across disciplines, driven by a desire to understand human behavior, meaning, cultural transformation, and what a truly “healthy future” would look like. Mastering the many tools that may be required to support a shift from old ways of being to a new era, into the “what’s next”, were paramount to by path.
More information regarding my courses and experience can be found here.
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES: NARRATIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND WHOLE SYSTEMS THINKING (BA)
Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University
Transdisciplinary lens and critical theory, graduate-like experience.
Focus areas: Human health and behavior, ecological and economic systems, sustainable business, consumer behavior, and technology innovation and design. A course list can be found on my website, WingedElan.com.
Accomplishments: Recruited by Computer Science Department to lead research; Designed and taught 300-level university course; Established body of written work based on sociocultural theory; Received variety of notable opportunities to enrich campus offerings and connect departments, furthering collaboration across campus.
PSYCHOLOGY (AA)
Shoreline Community College
Beginning of my interdisciplinary journey.
Focus: Human psychology and mental wellbeing, anthropology, humanities, logic studies, and expressive arts.
Accomplishments: Attending full time while raising children and working; Honored by placement on Dean’s List; Coursework in nearly every department; Served on Tenure Committee.
Professional Development
2012 – current (Various contracts)
Brand Visioning, Copywriting, Website Design
I help organizations and professionals tell a story well, authentically, in alignment with their purpose through visioning and brand development processes. Defining your mission, voice, value, and audience creates relevance, allowing the day-to-day details and strategies to more easily flow in a productive and sustaining dynamic. Consumer engagement and brand trust are cultivated through using a fully developed and clear voice which aligns with your highest purpose and values.
TASK: Develop a cohesive brand image, target audience, and strategy to cultivate long-lasting and meaningful relationships between organizations and clientele.
SKILLS: Support my clients in understanding their goals, needs, and desires. Identify value creation and market opportunities. Ignite passion and provide resources so that my clients are ready to take inspired action. Website design and copy production to cultivate an authentic public presence.
July 2015 – March 2016
Intellectually Disabled Adult Care
Working with ServAlt while I was attending Shoreline Community College gave me insight into the world of social services and helped determine my academic path. (dis)Ability and mental wellbeing are very close issues I’m passionate about, though I chose not to pursue a career path into the broken and abusive social work system. I would rather direct my creative drive to ensure life is valued and the vulnerable are empowered. However, I learned much about myself and how intimate services are delivered – and where the pain points for these services are. I discovered my ability to develop trust and a sense of wellbeing in my clients, while witnessing a concerning degree of caregiver churn, low wages, lack of client funding, and absence of communication among staff, families, and clients which destroyed continuity. My attempts at reconciling some of these issues long-term would have required a more substantial change in a large system, though I hope some of my communication systems and compassionate approach remained.
As a teen, I had tutored peers with severe learning disabilities. My first in-depth research paper in higher learning centered on Deinstitutionalization and its effects on the homeless mentally ill. This job is a part in a much larger body of work targeting mental health and institutions in modern society.
TASK: Sustain a supportive and low-stress environment for clients which served their needs for health, structure, community engagement, and nutrition.
SKILLS: Consistent routine in meals, schedule, medications including documentation of minutia. Ability to understand low-verbal communication and deescalate prior to clients becoming stressed. Empathic interaction and clean, personalized atmosphere in clients’ homes. Documentation and communication among house staff and job coaches. Maintain certifications for medical and behavioral trainings. Knowledge of variety of intellectual and physical disorders.
OUTCOMES: Clients experienced low rate of incidents, thriving in my care and interaction. One non-verbal client in her twenties began using some phrases for the first time during my shifts. Created some communication techniques to pass historic, soothing client behaviors and preferences among staff.
2003 – current (Various projects)
Event production translates to many areas of project management, service, artistic installation, curation, and administrative oversight. Since my first co-production experience, developing a local favorite Jazz night in Arcata, CA, I’ve been part of production teams delivering experiences which immerse, inspire, and create community in a variety of scales. Here are a few highlights from the last couple of years.
Imagine Convergence, Host – Supported presenters at four-day conference as they spoke to 1,500 participants, facilitating connection and discussion with them in private gathering spaces.
Revival Gathering, Co-Producer – Planned and executed three-day idea and solutions incubator engaging 1,000 diverse participants. Duties included: grant co-writing with the facilitation team, identifying and resolving infrastructure needs on site, and interfacing with a variety of participants and staff in a management capacity to ensure a smooth event.
Presenter – Delivered presentation titled “Economics is an Ecosystem” at a small climate action event, offering ecologically-based solutions to resource management and distribution which generate vitality in people and planet.
2001 – 2016 (Various projects)
Administration & Management
I am project-oriented and love working with teams. My production work and time at FusionBeads.com converge with these skills. I even managed an apartment complex in Washington when I was a teenager! I highlight two of my favorite experiences here.
GREAT WESTERN SECURITY SYSTEMS
TASK: Initially hired to schedule installations with customers at night, I quickly replaced a total of four full time employees at the age of 18, overseeing all office operations and supporting the security systems sales staff.
SKILLS: Multiline phones, data-entry and billing, filing, installation scheduling, form letters and mass mailings, document design and editing, de-escalation of upset customers and employee conflicts.
TASK: Develop cohesive merchandise line, including original jewelry and art prints, for Seattle’s most prolific muralist, Henry.
SKILLS: Authentic brand development. Jewelry design and creation using mid-range products. Webshop development, design, and inventory management. Promotion campaigns, online and in-person. Operations procedures, policies, and systems.
2003 – 2004
Fabric Temptations
A treasure trove of craft and world culture, I immersed myself into the rich fabric and fiber arts housed in this small independent store. Their work application was a paper bag, which I made a 3-D rabbit sculpture from. The mentorship in technique and heritage was inspired, demanding, and in-depth. We dealt with structure, source, form, color theory, and a blend of diverse traditions.
TASK: Facilitate client projects through creative consultation. Teach people about history of fiber arts and creative techniques.
SKILLS: Ability to understand customer’s creative ideas and motivate their confidence and ambition. Extensive skill set with ability to teach sewing, yarn arts, patternmaking, and embroidery. Artistic design excellence - Create samples; in-store and window display design. Knowledge of fibers, fabrics, and cultural background of inventory.
1998 – 2006
Eureka Record Works
This was my first on-the-table job at age 15 and a team I returned to throughout the years. An independent record shop specializing in used music, The Works is a community hub where culture, politics, art, and diversity coursed through. It was a portal to ideas and the world, demanding I constantly acquire new skills and knowledge.
TASK: Create the coolest, most knowledgeable, independent record shop experience where dedicated customers look forward to spending time and money – returning over and over.
SKILLS: Locate and curate client music selections, including rarities and special orders. Research specialty: Internet, database, and physical media. Engagement with vast array of genres and music trivia. Database, inventory, and order management. Stock organization, signage. In-store and window display installation.
Formative Background
2004 – current
Jewelry Design
My jewelry career took off in 2004, working at Heart Bead for the holiday season. We carried an exquisite selection of high-quality beads: Czech glass, seed beads by the hank, African trade, ceramics, art glass, cut gemstone, crystal. I later worked at FusionBeads.com where I oversaw the Customer Support Department which required the ability to know and use every product and technique in the massive catalogue so that I could train my team and guide customers. I’ve created and launched multiple short-run, independent jewelry lines for myself and other artists in the last 15 years, preferring unconventional and high-quality products and designs, always relying on my craftsmanship to enforce the value of my unique expressions.
TASK: Support customers in design and creation process, including instruction of technique and troubleshooting. Design and creation of one-of-a-kind pieces, often with a cohesive aesthetic when developing a line.
SKILLS: Expertise of many materials, products, and techniques. Artistic ability and craftsmanship. Marketing, sales, and custom orders.
2005 – 2010
Fashion Forward Apparel
I began designing my own clothing at age 12 – a passion that’s continued to this day. At Breezy Blue Boutique in Arcata, CA and Lemon Meringue Boutique in Seattle, CA, I had the opportunity to empower women through creating their aesthetic expression. Both boutiques featured independent, mostly female designers with cutting-edge style sprinkled with a few staple items like fantastic denim lines and perfumes.
TASK: Create a customer experience which leaves them feeling great about themselves and ready to conquer the world!
SKILLS: Immediately identify styling possibilities and assess flattering fit for clients, targeting communication styles and areas to boost customer confidence. Merchandise cross-sales and up-sales. Maintain a comfortable, clean, and on-trend atmosphere. In-store and window displays. Repairs and small alterations. Database and POS software.
Summer 1998
California State Summer School of the Arts (CSSSA), Creative Short Story Writing and Poetry
Recognized as a gifted California Arts Scholar at age 15, I attended CSSSA which developed my writing process and editing skills in a challenging and immersive environment. Since, I’ve continued to grow as a writer, or wordsmith, developing a body of academic works, technical writing, creative works, and poetry.
SKILLS: Creative writing processes, storyboarding. Editing and proofreading. Development of writing voice.
Volunteer Work, Public Speaking & Academic Opportunity
Visit the lunafly creative page to see a portfolio of artistic works.
Academic information is located here.
The Muse and the Mind, my cultural theory and insights blog, can be found here.