Jessica Hanson Personal Portfolio - Educational Leadership

Educational Leadership: Originally from Oxford, Alabama, Jessica has been an educator since 2011. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's in English from Jacksonville State University, an Ed.S. in Culture, Cognition, and the Learning Process from Middle Tennessee State University, and a certification in exceptional education from Relay Graduate School of Education. Jessica has taught in various educational settings, including Gadsden State Community College in Alabama, multiple Motlow State Community College campuses in Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), K-8 charter schools, and Tennessee State University, a Historically Black University (HBCU). She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public History at MTSU. Her certifications, degrees, and expertise in Public History, English, exceptional education, and the learning process enable her to create accessible, engaging learning environments for all ages. She is mindful of students' hierarchy of needs and diverse learning styles, applying emotionally intelligent and culturally sensitive practices. As someone diagnosed with ADHD, she brings a personal understanding of neurodiversity to her educational approach.

Use the slider bar below to scroll through a sampling of photos from the various educational & enrichment trips.

At each educational institution, she has led actively chaperoning campus-wide events like Gadsden State Community College's M.A.S.H. Day, hosting film screenings at Tennessee State University, speaking, planning, or chaperoning at Black history readings and International Day tables like Germany and Laos at Motlow State Community College. She also intentionally invited other inspiring speakers from varied backgrounds to enhance student learning, like artist Omari Booker, playwright and musician Hannibal Lokumbe, genealogist and Black historian John Baker, and entrepreneur and author Emma Gonsalves.

Use the slider bar below to scroll through a sampling of photos of experience in higher education leadership.

Jessica has served as a grade level chair, yearbook coordinator, co-founded Girl Scout's Troop #5416, managed a campus' social media and recruitment programs, and organized/participated in Black history and Hispanic Heritage programming, like Black history poetry read-ins at Motlow State Community College, Tennessee State University.

Use the slider bar below to scroll through a sampling of photos of experience in primary educational leadership (elementary school).

Use the slider bar below to scroll through a sampling of photos of experience in intermediate educational leadership (middle school).

Students actively sought out "Ms. Hanson" for counsel beyond English, history, or anything educational, often approaching her for mental health advice, inclusivity encouragement, or a safe space in her office to vent or study. Relationship building is crucial to Jessica's educational teaching philosophy.

Use the slider bar below to scroll through photos of various Girl Scouts adventures.

Creating experiences beyond the classroom is a passion and forte of Jessica's. She often raised money for students to camp, kayak, go to amusement parks, travel to historical sites, go on cross-country road trips to colleges and water parks, and study with genuine intrigue at theater events, like Jonah People Symphony, parks and historic sites to enrich student's Honors Black History Middle Tennessee tour, and transporting to public history museums like Jefferson Street Sound.

Museum Coordination: As the Education Programs Coordinator at Travellers Rest Historic House Museum, Jessica organized group tours and field trips for diverse audiences, including large public school groups of 150-175 students, as well as smaller, more intimate groups from homeschool and private schools. She coordinated artisans and engaging speakers and led or co-led various 2024 summer camp programs, such as Tennessee Tales & Legends (see gallery), Jr. Docents (see gallery), Officer's Training (see gallery), Archaeology (see gallery); Miss Mary's Academy (see gallery), and Apprentice (see gallery). See more on the Travellers Rest slider below. Additionally, she organized artisans for the Fall 2024 Trades Days Festival. Jessica created, updated, and themed/standardized an extensive portfolio of educational materials for group tours, summer camps,and tour interpretations, including invoices (booking and coordinating ~$9,000 for Fall 24'/Spring 25' with educators prior to resignation), created marketing promotions, and researched, wrote, and edited social media posts, always attempting to emphasize underrepresented groups. She continuously highlighted the history of the pre-contact Mississippian-era Stone Box builders and the enslaved and free Black individuals who lived at or near the site, including Matilda, Emily, Harry, Washington, and later, Claiborne Hines and his twin brother when interpreting tours or field trips.

Use the slider bar below to scroll through photos of Jessica's experiences in the role of Education Programs Coordinator at Travellers Rest Historic House Museum.

Library Service: During her time at Fisk University's John Hope & Aurelia E. Franklin Library, Jessica supported daily Access Services operations through opening and closing procedures, digital and print signage, room and lab reservations, research services, and public programming while completing her Ph.D. in Public History. Her work included designing and facilitating course-embedded information literacy research instruction, founding the Build Your Research Confidence undergraduate research and database literacy series, curating a lobby exhibit documenting Fisk's place on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail through archival research, planning and coordinating the library's 2026 International Day program, supervising volunteer and Federal Work Study students, and providing daily research and operations assistance to students, faculty, researchers, and community visitors. In addition to public-facing programming, Jessica completed professional training in archival digitization, digital preservation, metadata creation, and digitization workflows, including overhead scanning, optical character recognition (OCR), watermarking, image compression, and finding-aid organization. These experiences strengthened her commitment to making historical collections more accessible through education, interpretation, and public engagement while expanding her technical archival skill set.

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