For over two decades, Jessica P. Hansen has worked at the intersection of humanity’s deepest needs and its highest potential. From refugee camps and rural villages to global nonprofits and corporate leadership spaces, her work has centered on dignity, protection, and access. In this conversation with Stellar Woman Magazine, Jessica reflects on who she is, what shaped her, and why compassion remains at the core of everything she does.
WHO IS JESSICA HANSEN?
“That is such a huge question,” Jessica says. “What comes up for me immediately is a quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson. He talks about having two purposes in life. One is to understand more about the world today than you did yesterday, and the other is to ease the suffering of others.” She explains that if she had to capture her life in a few words, those two ideas would be the pillars of who she is and how she has moved through the world.
WHAT WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM CAREER?
“When I was young, I had many dreams,” she says. “You pick up a lot from family and culture about what success looks like.” She considered becoming a doctor and laughs that it would have made her Asian mother very happy. Her father, however, encouraged her to believe she could be anything. “I always felt a desire to see the world, understand the world, and help people.” Over time, she realized that humanitarian and aid work brought all of those things together. “As soon as I learned about the Peace Corps and humanitarian work, it became very clear that this was my path.”
WHAT EARLY EXPERIENCES SHAPED YOUR CALLING TO SERVE HUMANITY?
Jessica recalls growing up during a time when global crises were unfolding in real time. “I remember learning about the Rwanda genocide, apartheid in South Africa, and environmental disasters,” she says. “I was watching the news and asking, who is going to do something about this?” At home, she was shaped by her parents. Her mother is from Thailand, her father served in the US military, and both lived lives rooted in service. “My mother would remind me that as a girl in the United States, I had access to education that she didn’t have.” Hearing about girls being pulled out of school and exposed to trafficking risks made Jessica deeply aware of privilege and injustice. “It felt unfair that where you are born could determine so much about your safety and opportunity.”
WAS THERE A DEFINING MOMENT WHEN YOU KNEW THIS WOULD BE YOUR LIFE’S WORK?
“There wasn’t one moment,” she says honestly. “It was more an ongoing understanding.” As she continued learning about conflict, hunger, gender based violence, and lack of access to healthcare, her sense of responsibility grew. “It’s always been there, and it’s still expanding. I just keep seeing more ways we can all play a role.”
WHAT VALUES FROM CHILDHOOD STILL GUIDE YOUR LEADERSHIP TODAY?
Jessica speaks about growing up between cultures and faiths. “I had a Buddhist Asian mother and a Catholic white American father,” she says. “That taught me very early that people can be different and still hold incredible value.” She believes no one has more inherent worth than another. “Especially people who have been denied access or power. Their voices matter.” She also remembers feeling protective of her mother when her beliefs were questioned. “It taught me openness and compassion for different viewpoints.”
WHAT DOES HUMANITARIAN LEADERSHIP MEAN TO YOU AT ITS CORE?
“I almost feel like the word humanitarian is limiting,” she explains. “At its core, it’s about protecting life in all its fullness.” She speaks about how history, power, and privilege have created unequal systems. “Poverty and suffering are not the fault of the people experiencing them.” To her, leadership means redistributing access to healthcare, education, and opportunity. “I never saw myself as a leader,” she admits. “But I learned that leadership doesn’t have to look like what we’ve been shown. It can be inclusive, collaborative, kind, and supportive.” She believes new leadership models are essential because “the old ones created the inequality we see today.”
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN COMPASSION AND CLARITY AMID SO MUCH SUFFERING?
Jessica speaks candidly about secondary trauma. “When I started, we didn’t talk enough about how supporting people through trauma impacts your own body and nervous system.” She says anger and frustration are natural responses to injustice. “But my dad always said, ‘Don’t waste energy complaining. Do something about it.’” From her mother’s Buddhist philosophy, she learned acceptance. “You have to accept where you are to begin.” She adds that compassion must extend even to those causing harm. “People act from love or from a lack of love. A well person does not create suffering.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES?
Early in her career, Jessica documented gender based violence among refugee communities along the Thailand and Myanmar border. “The stories were horrific,” she says. “I had to face the reality that humans could be more violent than I ever imagined.” Yet, she was equally struck by resilience. “The same people who suffered unimaginable cruelty were still laughing, falling in love, wanting better lives for their children.” She later resettled over eleven thousand Burundian refugees in the United States. “If people who have lived in camps for forty years can start over, what excuse do I have?”
WHAT HAS WORKING WITH GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS TAUGHT YOU?
“Everything is connected,” she says simply. “You cannot address hunger without addressing water, sanitation, health, and education.” She explains that sustainable impact requires systems, funding models, and local ownership. “If communities are dependent on aid forever, the work will collapse.” Sustainability, she says, is not optional.
WHAT DOES PROTECTION REALLY MEAN?
“To me, protection is freedom from fear,” Jessica explains. “Fear of hunger, fear of violence, fear of disease, fear of exclusion.” She describes protection as meeting basic needs first, then moving toward dignity, safety, education, and self worth. “Ultimately, protection is about allowing people to become fully realized human beings.”
WHY IS EDUCATION SO CENTRAL TO YOUR WORK?
“Education gives people the tools to create their own change,” she says. She is careful with language. “I don’t like words like allowing or empowering. People should already have power.” She explains that educating girls has generational impact. “Educated women reinvest in families and communities. Over time, that changes everything.”
WHAT UNIVERSAL HOPE DO YOU SEE ACROSS COMMUNITIES?
“People are incredible,” Jessica says. “Across youth, refugees, and survivors, I see a desire for connection, joy, and meaning.” She reflects on the tension between wanting to fix the world and wanting to enjoy it. “We need both. We need to work for change and still savor life.”
WHAT DEFINES A STELLAR WOMAN TO YOU?
“A stellar woman knows she is worthy of taking up space,” she says. “She does not make herself smaller to make others comfortable.” She believes compassion is key. “Seeing everyone with eyes of compassion is powerful. It reminds us that supporting others is also supporting ourselves.”
WHAT CHALLENGES DO WOMEN STILL FACE?
Jessica is direct. “Women are paid less. We have fewer legal rights globally. We face more violence.” Even in her leadership role, she has been dismissed. “Some people will not speak to me or hand me a donation check because I am a woman.” She believes progress requires persistence and allies. “We cannot force people to see our value, but we can model it.”
WHAT DOES REAL INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT LOOK LIKE?
“Innovation starts with listening,” she says. “You cannot assume you have the answers.” She emphasizes inclusion. “If everyone is not in the room, the solution will not work for everyone.”
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT HUMANITARIAN WORK?
“The savior mindset,” she says without hesitation. “Inequality exists because of history and power, not because people lack intelligence or ability.” She believes humanity is evolving toward collaboration rather than domination.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR BUSINESSES THAT WANT TO DO GOOD?
“Think long term,” she says. “Good intentions can cause harm if you don’t understand ecosystems.” She explains how short term charity can destroy local economies. “Sustainability must be built in from the start.”
WHAT DO AWARDS MEAN TO YOU?
“They are humbling,” Jessica says. “But they don’t belong to me alone.” She sees them as reflections of collective effort. “None of this work happens in isolation.”
CAN YOU SHARE A STORY THAT STAYS WITH YOU?
She speaks about children born with cleft conditions. “Eating hurts. Drinking hurts. Some are rejected or even killed.” In a few hours of surgery, everything changes. “It’s not just life changing. It’s life saving.” She also shares the story of a thirty seven year old woman who lived in isolation her entire life. “That showed me what happens when help never comes.”
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG CHANGE MAKERS?
“Start small,” Jessica says. “Everything matters.” She believes simple acts of kindness build momentum. “You never know how far one small action can go.”
