Jessica Shortall

Jessica Shortall leads R Street’s efforts to convene stakeholders and external partners around complex policy issues like tobacco harm reduction and illicit drug use. She also leads the Safer From Harm Coalition, a diverse, nonpartisan coalition advancing harm reduction public policy.

Jessica’s career has spanned public health, education, nutrition, and human rights. Prior to joining R Street, she was the vice president of corporate engagement at Freedom for All Americans and managing director at Texas Competes, where she led two large business coalitions making the economic case for LGBTQ inclusion in state and federal policy. She also served as the first director of social impact at TOMS Shoes. Her book, “Work. Pump. Repeat: The New Mom’s Survival Guide to Breastfeeding and Going Back to Work,” was published in 2015. 

Jessica earned an MBA in social entrepreneurship from the University of Oxford, where she was a Skoll Scholar, and a bachelor’s degree in art history from Wake Forest University. She lives in Greater Minneapolis with her husband, two kids, and two rescue dogs.