MEET JESSICA
ABOUT JESSICA MORSE
When Jessica Morse sees a problem, she runs toward it and will not stop until it is fixed. The drive to tackle tough issues has shaped her career choices and commitment to public service.
A fifth-generation Northern Californian, Jessica’s ancestors crossed the Sierra on covered wagons and settled in the Sierra foothills. Today, Jessica and her family remain stewards of these lands, giving her a unique understanding in her job helping protect Californians from wildfire.
In 2019 Jessica was appointed Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency, working on the frontline of California’s wildfire crisis and fast-tracking wildfire prevention efforts. Last year, Jessica was appointed to the U.S. Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, helping develop recommendations and strategies to reshape national wildfire policies. A true custodian of the land, Jessica has hiked 500 miles of the district on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Prior to her work on wildfire resilience, Jessica spent a decade working in national security for the US Defense Department, the US State Department, and USAID, the humanitarian branch of the State Department. This included a tour in Iraq in 2005, working side-by-side with US troops for eighteen months.
Jessica’s deep commitment to public service drove her to volunteer on the ground in Paradise, CA after the Camp Fire and to create the Fresno Farm Bridge to help struggling family farms stay in business during COVID-19.