Jessica Childress
TALK
The “Big Job” Isn’t Always Your Best Path to Impact
From childhood onward, Jessica wanted to become a lawyer — and she did. And yet, as her career progressed, she realized that the law might not be her only path to impact. Drawing from her career as a lawyer and a children’s book author, Jessica encourages us to embrace our multifaceted identities, recognizing that the way we change the world may not be as linear as we imagine.
ABOUT
Ms. Childress is the managing attorney and founder of the Childress Firm PLLC, an employment law firm. Ms. Childress is also the founder of Juris Prudence LLC, a children’s educational content company that offers books and educational programming teaching children about leadership and law through the eyes of fictional 11-year-old lawyer, Juris P. Prudence. She has received several honors, including the National Bar Association’s 2018 Young Lawyer of the Year Award and the Washington Bar Association’s 2017-2018 Young Lawyer of the Year Award. Ms. Childress has been named to the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 D.C. Super Lawyers Rising Stars lists. Ms. Childress is a graduate of the Aspen Institute’s Justice and Society program. She serves as a contributor for Arianna Huffington’s international media outlet, Thrive Global. She has been featured in numerous publications, including Good Morning America, Forbes, Essence, the Huffington Post, Success, Entrepreneur, and Newsweek.