Experience

Advancing Health Equity

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism Analyst

  • Jan 2022 - Present

  With the Advancing Health Equity team, Jess partners with healthcare and public health organizations to move toward health equity. She conducts Equity Audits and Organizational Assessments to identify areas of opportunity and provides specific recommendations that organizations can take to implement equitable policies and practices, foster an equitable culture, and promote health equity among the communities they serve. With the Advancing Health Equity team, Jess partners with healthcare and public health organizations to move toward health equity. She conducts Equity Audits and Organizational Assessments to identify areas of opportunity and provides specific recommendations that organizations can take to implement equitable policies and practices, foster an equitable culture, and promote health equity among the communities they serve.



Jess MacFarlane Consulting

• Consultant / Founder

  • May 2021 - Present

  The mission of Jess MacFarlane Consulting is to build racial literacy and promote action among those who are committed to racial equity but are unsure how to get started. Jess’ specific purpose is to mobilize white people in the collective process of unlearning, skills-building, and active anti-racism. Jess’ primary services include workshop facilitation, coaching, organizational needs assessments, and materials review. Her main topics for workshops include belonging in the workplace, overriding bias in the hiring process, racial anxiety, racial identity development, microaggressions, and accountability.



Perception Institute

• United States
• Think Tanks
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Deputy Director of Research and Assessment

  • Jan 2021 - May 2021

• Senior Research Director

  • Oct 2019 - Jan 2021

  Drawing on cutting-edge mind science research on implicit bias, identity anxiety, and stereotype threat, Perception offers evidence-based strategies to foster belonging and promote equity in outcomes across a range of institutions. As Senior Research Director, Jessica's core responsibilities include project management, workplace needs assessments, data analysis, content development, and workshop facilitation.

• Senior Research Associate

  • Oct 2017 - Oct 2019

  Multi-faceted position incorporating skills in research, evaluation, and facilitation on Perception's core concepts of implicit bias, racial anxiety, and stereotype threat. Responsibilities include management of in-house and collaborative research projects, authoring reports, and creation and delivery of workshops for various stakeholders in criminal justice, education, healthcare, media, and other sectors.

• Research Associate

  • Oct 2015 - Oct 2017

  Manage in-house research studies and translation of findings on implicit bias, racial anxiety, and stereotype threat. Responsibilities include study design, survey creation, data management, data analysis, and generation of research reports.



National Harm Reduction Coalition

• United States
• Wellness and Fitness Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Project Coordinator

  • May 2014 - May 2015

  Project Coordinator for the Injection Drug Users Health Alliance (IDUHA), an initiative supported by the Harm Reduction Coalition. - Coordinated repeated cross-sectional study of 1,300 clients of 14 harm reduction agencies across New York City. - Played a crucial role in revising the survey, which assessed harm reduction service utilization, drug use, health, medical care engagement. - Directly supervised 20 Field Interviewers, including training, scheduling, and day-to-day logistics. - Conducted data management in SPSS statistical software and led analysis for dissemination to funders and conference presentations. The study was funded by the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) and the MAC AIDS Foundation.



Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

• United States
• Higher Education
• 500 - 600 Employee

• Lead Teaching Assistant

  • Aug 2014 - Dec 2014

  Served as the primary liaison between faculty, TA’s, students, and administrative Office of Educational Programs for courses of the Master of Public Health program (Quantitative Foundations and Science, Evidence, Policy & Practice). Directly supervised 20 Teaching Assistants (TA's), who were fellow MPH students. Managed dissemination of all lecture content and assignments, communication with students, TA schedules, content of weekly meetings, and all other administrative tasks. Served as the primary liaison between faculty, TA’s, students, and administrative Office of Educational Programs for courses of the Master of Public Health program (Quantitative Foundations and Science, Evidence, Policy & Practice). Directly supervised 20 Teaching Assistants (TA's), who were fellow MPH students. Managed dissemination of all lecture content and assignments, communication with students, TA schedules, content of weekly meetings, and all other administrative tasks.



Duke University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Assistant & Study Coordinator

  • Aug 2011 - Jul 2013

  Primary Research Assistant for Kathleen Sikkema, PhD- Worked across a variety of domestic and international projects related to mental health, HIV prevention, alcohol use, and obstetric fistula- Quantitative and qualitative data management and analysis, NIH grant application preparation, contribution to study protocols and assessments, manuscript writing and revision, budget management, and broad research support for investigators at Duke UniversityStudy Coordinator for Christina Meade, PhD- General management of two projects related to methamphetamine use in Cape Town, South Africa, including travel to Cape Town to provide direct research support- Development of assessment tools and study protocols, data management, coordination with international partners, and liaison to Duke Institutional Review Board (IRB



Duke University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Assistant

  • Jan 2011 - May 2011

  Sikkema Lab, Department of Psychology & NeuroscienceEntry and management of behavioral data from patients of the Infectious Disease Clinic in the Duke Hospital, meta-analytic literature search on HIV infection and mental health in global settings, creation of bilingual (Swahili/English) database for study on mental health among women with obstetric fistulae.

• Research Assistant

  • Jun 2009 - Dec 2010

  Cooper Lab, Department of Psychology & NeuroscienceContributed to meta-analysis on self-regulated learning and academic achievement through literature search, data coding, and effect size calculation. Contributed to protocol development and ran subjects through final protocol of study on ego depletion.

• Bilingual Interviewer

  • Jun 2009 - Dec 2009

  Center for Child & Family Policy, Sanford School of Public PolicyConducted home visits to over 30 bilingual (Spanish/English) immigrant families and interviewed parents and children about parenting practices and child development, as part of the international "Parenting Across Cultures" study (Lansford, PI; funder, NICHD, Fogarty International).



CFK Africa

• United States
• Non-profit Organization Management
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Intern

  • Jun 2010 - Jul 2010

  Created and administered an assessment of HIV testing motivation and uptake in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. Aided in planning and execution of soccer tournaments for over 5,000 local youth. Assisted in planning and executive of monthly community clean-ups. Composed profiles of over forty CFK volunteers for the organization's website (http://cfk.unc.edu/) and newsletters to donors as part of an extensive overhaul of marketing materials. Created and administered an assessment of HIV testing motivation and uptake in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. Aided in planning and execution of soccer tournaments for over 5,000 local youth. Assisted in planning and executive of monthly community clean-ups. Composed profiles of over forty CFK volunteers for the organization's website (http://cfk.unc.edu/) and newsletters to donors as part of an extensive overhaul of marketing materials.