Jessica Voorhees Combines Communications Skills with a Passion for Development
Jessica Voorhees G’19, originally from Kentucky, came to AUP after a variety of other international experiences, including a semester abroad in Denmark and digital marketing work in Santiago, Chile for Keteka. She had studied anthropology and journalism at Western Kentucky University and wanted to combine the two fields in a career that would promote sustainable development. The knowledge and experience she gained during her Master’s in Global Communications at AUP allowed her to take her interest in development and climate to a new level.
For the past five years, Voorhees worked as a digital communications officer in the development directorates of the OECD. She recently joined the UNDP in Geneva to work on an initiative to strengthen smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate risks through agricultural insurance.
As project manager at the UNDP, Voorhees works directly with governments, local institutions and other partners to support the design and implementation of agricultural insurance schemes in five countries: India, Bangladesh, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
With a strong interest in communications within international organizations and non-profits, Voorhees has continuously sought to work in fields where she feels she can make a difference. During her first job, she worked with Keteka in Chile to connect local tour operators to global travelers through a digital marketplace, enabling communities to directly benefit from tourism revenue while preserving their way of life.
At AUP, she found the perfect combination of fieldwork and theory. She cites the Sustainable Development Practicum as having given her the experience of “learning how to make things work in terms of digital marketing with limited resources,” she recalls. Voorhees also fondly remembers the study trips to Fez, Morocco, which focused on music and cultural heritage, and to the Jura, which focused on food and anthropology—specifically the branding of the famous cheese from the region.
At the OECD, Voorhees worked on social media, blogs, impact measurement, events, and digital campaign organization; and produced campaigns on digital transformation, gender equality and climate action, among other topics. She has aimed to make development policy research and analysis accessible, including through telling stories about what development looks like in practice. Now, as she moves into her new role, she looks forward to playing a major role in those stories on the ground.