Katie Jessop feels awkward about sharing bio info because she’d rather get to know you organically over a cup of coffee. If we could get a cuppa together, then you’d probably learn that she has a goal of traveling all 50 states with her partner, Matt, and their youngest two children, ages 12 and 8. By the end of 2025, they will have been to 21 states and 6 countries as a family. They also have a 25 year old who tends to hang out with the family when he needs a break from his friends. Matt and Katie have been foster, adoptive, and biological parents who have had to navigate complex issues with multiple systems such as insurance, CPS, and special education.

Katie has worked as a Licensed Mental Health Therapist for most of her career though in the past 10 years has helped open a few nonprofits. Most recently, she helped open Lumen High School, a public charter high school for pregnant and parenting teens, and founded a nonprofit licensed child care center, GLOW Children Early Learning Center. Last year, GLOW was awarded a large grant through LaunchNW to do more community outreach work that focuses on early learning and early relational health. Katie thinks this might be her favorite job yet. She and her colleagues absolutely love to meet with families, learn about their needs and hopes and then try to either connect them with existing organizations or work with community partners to create a new way to meet the need. In her work and her life, she hopes to create a large ripple effect of belonging, connection, equity, and joy.

Contact Information:

Phone: 509-220-4679
Website: https://glowchildren.org/