"Creativity fuels the innovation of practical skills and is crucial when considering development at the intersection of equity and inclusion," says Jesa. "Diversifying funding channels and revenue streams not only mitigate financial risks, but also amplifies an organization's mission visibility and viability.”
Jesa Townsend, Executive Director of Angels for Sight shares — “Angels for Sight has long been a beacon of hope, ensuring that essential eye care is a right, not a privilege. Too often overlooked in health equity, it is vital to education, workforce development, and well-being. By fostering partnerships and addressing socioeconomic issues beyond vision care, we strive to build a more just and equitable future. I am honored to build on this legacy, expand access for the most vulnerable, and work alongside our dedicated supporters to create lasting impact.”
Jesa Townsend
Senior Consultant | Equity Strategist | Civic Artist | Systems Builder
Jesa Townsend is, at her core, a servant leader. A respected senior executive in fund development and community relations, she brings more than a decade of consulting experience at the intersection of philanthropy, education, and the arts. She is a celebrated artist, a formidable researcher, and a 2023 Success Magazine “50 Women of Influence” nominee [Trailblazers Issue, March 2024], as well as a finalist for the L.A. Works Civic Leadership & Impact Award. Her journey is a testament to what happens when passion meets purpose—when creativity is paired with strategy, and when community is at the center of every solution.
Over the years, Jesa has worked alongside some of the the highest level of government officials and most impactful organizations in the nonprofit sector and —organizations like Angels for Sight, Goodwill Industries, Aspire Public Schools, Emile Chol Atelier, Meals on Wheels, Skydance Animation, Whitter College, the Orange County School of the Arts, and more. She’s raised millions in public and private funding. She’s built bridges between communities and institutions. And she’s helped shape programs that honor both lived experience and long-term outcomes.
Her teaching background spans from third grade classrooms— all grade levels— to undergraduate lecture halls, including K–12 charter systems and vocational institutions. But Jesa’s calling extends beyond instruction. After completing her graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University—where she earned two academic fellowships and graduated with distinction—she began partnering with cities to design public art that gave voice to issues too often left in silence. That early work laid the foundation for what would become a deeply civic and creative consulting practice—holding executive leadership positions.
In 2012, her ability to paint both beauty and justice onto the same canvas was formally recognized when she received the Heroes & Hearts award from the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. Since then, she has collaborated with more than 30 cause-based organizations and installed public and private commissions in cities such as Tempe, Jasper, Iowa City, Salem, Manhattan, Santa Ana, Henderson, Phoenix, Wilmington, and Los Angeles. Her solo exhibitions and talks have graced venues like The Conrad Chicago and The Grand Wilmington Opera House. She has worked alongside the Arizona Science Center, Anaheim Garden Walk, St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, Manor Hospice, and the National Charity League (multiple chapters)—always with a focus on using art as a conduit for collective change. She is also a member of The Rotary Club of Long Beach.
Jesa is also a systems thinker. Her expertise in philanthropic strategy, donor relations, and social policy has helped organizations navigate challenges both internal and systemic. She serves as a foundation board member for Aspire Public Schools—a Bill and Melinda Gates & founder of Netflix Reed Hastings affiliation— a founding board member of Nevada State University’s Arts & Culture Advisory Council (11+ years), and is a government arts panelist for the City of Phoenix. She is a certified facilitator with the National Center to Reframe Aging in Washington, D.C., and a proud advocate for the Epilepsy Foundation.
Academically, Jesa continues to lead by learning. In addition to her Master’s from Johns Hopkins, she studied at Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, began graduate work at the University of Edinburgh, and is currently completing her second Master’s—this one in Psychology—at Harvard University. Her executive credentials include leadership training through MIT and the University for Peace (United Nations).
Whether she's advising on a national funding strategy, designing a mural that tells a community’s story, or standing at a podium next to policymakers and fellow change agents, Jesa brings to the table what every great leader must: clarity of purpose, humility in process, and an unwavering belief in the power of people. Her recent lightning talk at Johns Hopkins University’s Earth Day 50 celebration—click, focused on the arts as a tool for crossing ideological divides—offered just that: hope, creativity, and intellectual courage.
And at the end of the day, Jesa is still a farm girl at heart. She’s traveled to 39 countries. She adores her family, whom holds a deeply anchored civil rights legacy, and her animals. She laughs easily, listens intently, and leads with both grit and grace. Through it all, Jesa remains committed to one simple idea: that every community deserves dignity, and that dignity begins with equitable access to opportunity, resources, and voice.
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