About

Hi, I’m Jess!

I am a harm reductionist, drug policy reformer, public health advocate, and raver.

I have been raving since 2011, around the time dance music started to become mainstream in the U.S. The rise of dance music and festivals also meant the introduction of drugs to many young people. I started to notice a problem in the community: preventable drug-related deaths and injuries were becoming too common.

Combining my background in public health with my passion for the dance music community, I knew I could make a meaningful impact. In 2014, I started volunteering in various roles at music festivals and raves to promote health and safety of event guests. In these roles, I educated people about safer partying, including the negative consequences and benefits of drug use, and provided harm reduction services, such as drug checking and distributing free water. In addition to education and outreach, my harm reduction work has included research and evaluation, as well as policy and advocacy.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and events were put on hold, I could no longer serve the community in the same capacity. I downloaded TikTok out of complete boredom, but soon realized what an amazing platform it is for educational content. Noticing a lack of harm reduction content on the app (with none centering partying and nightlife), I created Party Safer with Jess in June 2020.

Party Safer with Jess allowed me serve the community in the absence of events during the pandemic and share what I’ve learned about health and safety in nightlife during my seven years working in harm reduction and ten years in the dance music community on a larger scale than I could have ever imagined. Nearly one year later, my account has grown to have over 100k followers, with content reaching millions of people.