Jessica Gelico

Being able to balance creativity and productivity makes me feel motivated and successful. Challenging and meaningful work makes me feel like I'm making an impact.

I’m a hands-on learner. I appreciate thorough and informative training guides that I can always refer back to, but I won’t really understand and know how to do something until I do it. I also ask a lot of questions, but only after I have tried to figure it out myself first.

Words of Affirmation is my official love language, but food is my unofficial one. I also love getting to just talk with teammates about cool new ideas (work or personal).

Did you know a bunch of these are "canceled" now?! See: https://nypost.com/2022/10/12/gen-z-has-canceled-the-thumbs-up-emoji-because-its-hostile/

I'm a boomerang volunteer at the Oakland Zoo.

I was a "teen wild guide" in high school, educating guests about animals in the children zoo. Then I became a camp counselor, leading the children during Zoo Camp. Most recently, I was an animal care volunteer (my favorite) where I basically was an assistant for the Zookeepers.

Having a block of meetings helps me to get a clear view of the work that needs to be done. Following that with a block of deep work allows me to actually get that work done.

I value direct feedback that will help me and the team reach success and I’d prefer it sooner rather than later. Tell me what I need to hear not just what I want to hear.

Walking with friends

It's a (literal) breath of fresh air and the best way for me to decompress. Getting to simultaneously exercise out the stress while also talking about it and/or talking about other things lets me be really in the moment and relax.