Meet Jess

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Before we dive in, a little context. Jessica is many things at once: strategic lead, movement facilitator, energetic listener, playlist curator, and devoted Staffy-boop enthusiast. 

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She lives somewhere between intuition and intention, prefers flow over routine, and believes clarity shows up in the body long before it hits the page. This interview is a peek into how she thinks, leads, creates, and moves through the world.

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What’s a small, ordinary thing that brings you a disproportionate amount of joy?‍

Boops for Ruka. Ruka is my 15 year old Staffy Pit mix who is the most adorable puppo ever. So any amount of what I call squish squish just makes my heart explode. Also, her tiny snores are just the sweetest, and the only snoring I can allow.

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Are you actually a morning person, or just spiritually awake at all hours? How does that show up in your work? Be honest.‍

Honestly, spiritually awake at all hours feel more accurate. I am certainly not a morning person, though recent years has forced me to be and I've learned to embrace the morning - though I've never been able to be consistent with any kind of routine. I align with the night and it's endless possibilities more than I ever will the rush of the morning. At night, I can let things be and flow more naturally, whereas in the morning even when all the stars align, I am still amping up and usually have a time table to adhere to.

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What’s your current hyper-fixation—personal, professional, or energetically inexplicable?‍

My current and forever hyper-fixation will be curating the perfect playlist. From recording the radio, to mixed tapes and burned CDs I love music more than I'll ever find the words to express. These days, as a movement facilitator, I weekly get to spend way too much time building the right playlist. It's the most important to me.‍

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What does your perfect “no work allowed” day look like, from wake to wind-down?‍

I don't know that perfect exists for me, because what perfect looks like one day, certainly does not look perfect the next. But right now I am craving a good walk about day. A day where I grab a coffee, walk around and pop into shops/museums and more cafes and bakeries. Basically a day of snacks and walking followed by a delicious dinner and a late night show followed by great cocktails at a small, but sweet spot that's not too loud (elder millennial here), but one that is on the edge of something incredible.

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Let’s clear the air once and for all: chai only. Walk us through your ritual and why coffee is a hard stop.‍

It's not chai only. Though that would be a solid bet to take. I grew up in a family that didn't drink coffee. So I wasn't fully aware of coffee until much later in life, when I was told I was weird for not drinking it. My parents were more of the diet coke or ice tea type of people, and I absolutely hate the way diet coke tastes, so I kept to water pretty exclusively growing up. But don't get confused, I am an absolute drink goblin - though I am usually cycling through a hot chai, matcha or cacao and then water followed up an olipop, iced mint green tea, or homemade kombucha.

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What’s something you’ve intentionally unlearned while wearing all the hats and playing all the roles?‍

Probably, that even though I can wear all the hats and have at some point at one time or another, doesn't mean to you have to keep wearing them all. I certainly grew up with hustler, girlboss running deep in my veins and in my 20s really championed how much I could do, but now... I honestly don't care to do much of it anymore. There are so many other things I'd rather try and be a beginner at, rather than show everyone how cool all my hats are. Though it is fun to pull out an old one from time to time.

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How do you experience time: as something to manage, something to feel, or something to flow with?‍

The only thing I am concerned with when it comes to time is that I am on time. Being late stresses me out, even when someone says I can arrive anytime, if I say I am going to be somewhere at a certain time and then I am not, it's rough. I think respecting someone's time is so important. Beyond that, right now time is becoming more present in my life as I just turned 40 last year and now, time doesn't seem as abundant as it once used to - so right now, working on feeling and flowing with it.

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What’s one thing you always triple-check before a launch, a strategy handoff, or a big moment?‍

Spelling. Always spelling and that I am addressing the correct person.

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Beyond lists and logistics, what does “being prepared” actually mean to you?

‍Being prepared is being ready to pivot. To come to the table with a few ideas, with the understanding that things will change, something will spark and the north star can shift. As long as you are present, attentive and listening you will always be prepared. You can always study up, write your lists and talk through your agenda, but at this point, we should all know those never go to plan and it's those who are agile in the moment that are truly prepared.

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What do you notice first when something feels misaligned, under-thought, or energetically off?‍

For me it starts as a shift in my energy and how I am feeling in the space. When I start feeling the ick or just pulled back/reserved, that's when I know things are making a turn. In others, eyes start to lose focus, answers become shorter and the silences heavier. The loudest signal is always withdrawal. The only other tell is defensiveness; voices speeding up, words tumbling out as someone tries to outrun the discomfort.

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How do you personally balance intuition and structure when plans inevitably shift?‍

I don't balance them. I personally don't think balance exists and if you are working for balance, I am sorry, but you are going to be exhausted. Contrary to what you may think, I'm not one for structure. I don't like routine and have never found structure to be particularly supportive, but rather more restrictive. Whereas my intuition, while strong and something I continue to work on, is always present.

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What kind of chaos actually lights you up instead of draining you?‍

I’m lit up by the kind of chaos that asks for all of me. The best example is my time as a stage manager at Joe’s Pub in New York: three shows a night, constant changeovers, artists coming and going, back of house and front of house moving in sync. I loved orchestrating the moving parts, holding the thread while everything shifted around me. To close out the night, I more often than not ended up at Great Jones Cafe (RIP) for a hard cider or two and a pot de crème. It made  the subway ride home a bit softer.‍

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Tell us about Feral. What sparked it, what does it represent, and how it lives alongside your work at ENC?‍

Feral has been in the making far longer than it’s had a name. For most of my life, I lived in three worlds: design and strategy, movement, and energetic healing and I assumed they had to stay separate. People could understand one, maybe two, but rarely all three at once.

At its core, Feral is the practice I needed. A space to move the body and also go inward. After years as a fitness instructor, yoga and pole instructor, alongside holding Reiki and meditation circles, I became deeply convinced that order matters, plus there's science behind it.

Feral lives alongside ENC because they’re actually doing the same work just through different doors. ENC brings clarity and confidence to brands. Feral brings that same clarity and confidence back to the body. Both are about alignment. Both are about remembering what you already know.
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Reiki moment. How does energy work influence the way you lead, listen, and make decisions?‍

Reiki taught me to lead from attunement instead of control. It sharpened my ability to listen, not just to what’s being said, but to what’s underneath it. I make decisions by feeling for where energy moves easily and where it resists, trusting that clarity lives in the body long before it shows up on paper. Energy work keeps me responsive, not reactive and reminds me that the most aligned choices usually feel quieter, not louder.‍

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Ruka content required. What has life with your cutie dog taught you about presence, pacing, and unconditional joy?‍

Ruka’s story is woven into mine in a way that still feels a little cosmic. She belonged to my downstairs neighbor when I moved to Phoenix. Life shifted, we both moved on. Ruka went to California, I bounced around Phoenix and I assumed that chapter had quietly closed. Then, not long after I got married, I learned her owner had passed and Ruka was suddenly without a home. I made a very loving, very decisive executive-wife call and brought her home.

Now she’s 15, and life with her is slow and sweet. More sleeping, gentler pacing, softer days. She still lets me squeeze her and boop her face and lovingly bother her mid-nap. She’s given me joy, frustration, and the deepest kind of companionship and most of all, she’s taught me that time, no matter how long or short, is what makes a life unforgettable.

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You live with a chef (sorta). How does sharing space with Kristoffer shape your relationship to food, creativity, and the very specific things you do not eat?‍

Living with Kristoffer has completely rewired my relationship to food. I didn’t grow up with home-cooked meals. Fast food and eating out were the norm, and I carried that into adulthood. Cooking, when it did happened, was purely functional. I’d always rather go out and try something new than make something beautiful at home. Kristoffer changed that. Now a home-cooked meal feels like an experience, not a task, maybe not for him though.

As for what I don’t eat, he insists it’s less “picky” and more conditional. There are very normal things: pizza, coffee, hamburgers that I simply don’t care about and will never suggest. And yes, it absolutely broke his heart when he realized I’m indifferent to Italian food. Some wounds are still healing.

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You’ve traveled the world. How has being a global human shifted your perspective on work, culture, and what actually matters?‍

Travel made it impossible to unsee this: work is not the point. Other cultures don’t organize life around exhaustion, and once you witness that, the 9–5, five-day grind feels absurd. We’re working too hard, too rigidly, for returns that were never guaranteed, especially for my generation, who did “everything right” and still didn’t get ahead. I’ve never been motivated by work itself; I’m motivated by freedom, flexibility, time, and a life that feels expansive instead of extractive.

RAPID FIRE:

Chai ritual or hydration first?
‍Hydration first, always. I typically wait a full hour to eat/drink anything else. Not for any other reason except that I just don't wake up wanting much.

Structured days or intuitive flow?
‍Structured flow. I like having some anchor points throughout the day, but then allow intuition connect the dots.

Minimal neutrals or intentional edge?
Intentional edge.

Notes app full or brain fully booked?
‍Brain fully booked. I've been working really hard to get things out of my brain and organized into notes, lists, or calendars - but mostly I am better with it all in my brain cuz I tend to lose paper more so than my brain.

Ruka walks or long flights?
Ruka doesn't do much walking these days as her 15 year old joints are a bit tired. But I'll always take a long flight, direct always.

Strategy deck or energetic gut check?
Energetic gut check.

Clean calendar or controlled chaos?
‍Controlled chaos.

Wearing all the hats or choosing just one today?
‍Wearing all the hats. I get really bored really quickly, so if I can pivot a few times during my day that keeps me excited.

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