As Executive Director of We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), co-founded by legendary music producer and multi-Grammy winner, Nile Rodgers, Jess Teutonico helps lead one of the world's most influential global networks of youth - social entrepreneurs, innovators, activists, and creatives from 100+ countries who are working across cultures, borders and policies to solve some of the world's biggest issues today. Through highly sought-after accelerator programs including Three Dot Dash, Youth To The Front, Youth To The Table and TEDxTeen, as well as building new frameworks of intergenerational leadership models, and a highly sought-after mentoring program, WAFF has helped create and nurture one of the most hopeful narratives in our world today: youth.

As Youth Advisor to Joseph Peter and the former Permanent Representative of Iraq, T. Hamid al Bayati, she advised on the campaign for the adoption of The International Day of Happiness by the United Nations 193 member nations by consensus with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Kweku and Ndaba Mandela.

She was also the co-founder of Under the Acacia, an organization in Kenya that works in tandem with indigenous communities in remote areas to implement a new model of sustainability and economic security.

She has consulted for TED Conferences, The Global Creative Leadership Summit, and in her former life, she was a Director of Special Events at Vogue Magazine and produced fashion shows for Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, among others.

Jess has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes, CBS Radio, Refinery 29 and Paper Magazine named her a “Do-Gooder of the Year” and has spoken across various global platforms including the United Nations, The World Economic Forum, Harvard, Yale, INK, Les Napoleons, UNFINISHED, the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and NeueHouse, among others. She is also part of the braintrust of Unlock Her Potential - a mentorship program for women of color.