Jesica Giannola

Jesica Giannola

Lived Expertise Advisory Board Representative

Overview

Jesica Giannola currently works as a Housing Case Manager with survivors of recent wildfires. Jesica is also part of a network of volunteers who meet the needs of people who are unhoused by regularly providing resources, showers, meals, and advocacy support to those living in encampments. She began this grassroots advocacy work during her previous job as a Disaster Case Manager where she provided outreach to wildfire survivors living in local encampments.

Jesica uses her experiences of growing up in unstable housing to advocate for housing and services for the  increasing numbers of unhoused residents in her county. She has experienced how the right support can make a huge difference in helping people get out of hard circumstances, and she has dedicated her life to providing that support to those currently unhoused in her community. Jesica received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health, which has helped her better understand how generational trauma and socioeconomic barriers make housing success that much harder to obtain for certain populations. She has also worked in the nutrition research department of her local Cal State University, as a teacher's aide, and in the Women, Infacts, and Children’s office in the Department of Public Health.