Jessica-Rose Wallace

As the Strategic Initiatives Advisor, Jessica-Rose works closely with the grantmaking team to establish measurable outcomes that align with the Foundation’s strategic goals and drive meaningful, long-term impact. Additionally, she is responsible for overseeing a range of special projects.

Prior to the Foundation, Jessica-Rose was the Director of Government Affairs & Special Assistant to the President at Metropolitan Family Services. In this role, she provided strategic guidance for Metropolitan’s policy and advocacy initiatives to influence legislative and budgetary outcomes for the Human Services sector at local, state, and federal levels.

Jessica-Rose has a strong dedication to social impact through public service, having served on various local and state Advisory and Transition Committees, including the Council on Veteran Affairs for the City of Chicago, Co-Chair of the Women Veterans Committee for the City of Chicago, Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Serving Illinois’ Heroes Transition Committee, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Housing Transition Committee. She also served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 2000-2008, including two deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Jessica-Rose holds a B.A. from Governors State University, an A.M. from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, and DEI Leadership certification from Loyola University, Quinlan School of Business’ DEI Leadership Institute.