Jessica Malkin
Founding CEO, Chicago Ideas and Founding Co-Director, Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship
Jessica is the founding Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Ideas, a nonprofit ideas platform dedicated to inspiring action through entertaining and accessible events, grassroots initiatives and thought-provoking content. The nationally recognized organization hosts over 30,000 attendees annually and has hundreds of globally recognized speakers who speak from its stages including past speakers like President William H. Clinton, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Rep. John Lewis, and Edward Norton.
Previously, Jessica served as the Chief of Staff to Brad Keywell, founder and CEO of Uptake, an industrial AI software company that harnesses the power of data and predictive analytics. She continues to support the organization in her role as Strategic Advisor. Created in 2014, Uptake has been recognized as a CNBC Disruptor 50, a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and named as one of the hottest startups by Forbes.
She is the founding Co-Director of the annual Bluhm Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship at Chicago Ideas Week (CIW), which annually recognizes five exceptional social entrepreneurs under the age of 35 from a global pool of over 250 applicants. Each Fellow is awarded with the opportunity to further their organization’s goals through a non-discretionary gift of $10,000, exposure to nationally recognized business and community leaders, and special public engagements at CIW.
Jessica was recognized with the designation of a member of Crain’s 40 Under 40 in 2016, a list of Chicago’s “builders, thinkers and leaders who make us hopeful about our city’s future.” She is a Disruptor Foundation Fellow through the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards and she sits on the Board of Directors of Chicago Ideas, Embarc and the Susan Crown Exchange.
Jessica lives in Chicago with her husband Josh, three daughters Josie, Blake, and Scarlett, and their two dogs Sadie (a Beagle) and Blue (a Goldendoodle).
Founding CEO, Chicago Ideas and Founding Co-Director, Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship
Jessica is the founding Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Ideas, a nonprofit ideas platform dedicated to inspiring action through entertaining and accessible events, grassroots initiatives and thought-provoking content. The nationally recognized organization hosts over 30,000 attendees annually and has hundreds of globally recognized speakers who speak from its stages including past speakers like President William H. Clinton, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Rep. John Lewis, and Edward Norton.
Previously, Jessica served as the Chief of Staff to Brad Keywell, founder and CEO of Uptake, an industrial AI software company that harnesses the power of data and predictive analytics. She continues to support the organization in her role as Strategic Advisor. Created in 2014, Uptake has been recognized as a CNBC Disruptor 50, a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and named as one of the hottest startups by Forbes.
She is the founding Co-Director of the annual Bluhm Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship at Chicago Ideas Week (CIW), which annually recognizes five exceptional social entrepreneurs under the age of 35 from a global pool of over 250 applicants. Each Fellow is awarded with the opportunity to further their organization’s goals through a non-discretionary gift of $10,000, exposure to nationally recognized business and community leaders, and special public engagements at CIW.
Jessica was recognized with the designation of a member of Crain’s 40 Under 40 in 2016, a list of Chicago’s “builders, thinkers and leaders who make us hopeful about our city’s future.” She is a Disruptor Foundation Fellow through the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards and she sits on the Board of Directors of Chicago Ideas, Embarc and the Susan Crown Exchange.
Jessica lives in Chicago with her husband Josh, three daughters Josie, Blake, and Scarlett, and their two dogs Sadie (a Beagle) and Blue (a Goldendoodle).