About Jessie
The Labour Party candidate for Metro Mayor of the Tees Valley. Should I win, I will be the first female metro mayor in the country.
Former Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of A Way Out charity with seventeen years leadership experience. Sunday Times social entrepreneur of the year. Co-founder of The Tees Online, The Eclipse and I Love Stockton Me.
My Experience – I have seventeen years experience in strategic leadership, regeneration, community development, policy and campaigning. Currently director for Food and Drink North East a trade body for food and drink in the North East. Also run The Tees Online a citizen’s news platform for the Tees Valley. Read more
My Values – The Tees Valley is in my blood: I was born and raised here, started community businesses here, and pioneered and championed change. It is the place that I love and I am proud to call it my home. I believe in a more equal, fair and just society where wealth and opportunities are shared. I am driven by a deep sense of justice and the desire to see a more equal and fair world. At the age of 24, after meeting a teenager exploited through prostitution, I set up a charity to work with young women. I built a team, raised nearly £2million, won awards, helped thousands of people, recruited and worked with over 200 volunteers and employed 22 staff.
My Vision – Is to see a more equal and prosperous Tees Valley. To see local business and communities thrive, to be prepared for the future, putting technology & green industry at the heart of an industrial strategy, to create more and better jobs, to address the deep inequalities in terms of gender, geography and class and give young people a hope and a future. Read more
