Hi, I'm Jessi.
Jessi Pérez (she/her/ella) · Founder, Cultivate Coaching & Consulting
I'm a bilingual facilitator, coach, and fractional leader with more than 15 years inside social impact organizations. I help teams untangle what's getting in the way of their work, with an equity and inclusion lens on all of it.
I'm based in Chicago and travel for in-person work, or we can meet virtually.
How I got here
My work started at Resilience (formerly Rape Victim Advocates), Chicago's largest rape crisis center, as a counselor and victim advocate. It taught me how to listen, how to hold a room, and how seriously to take the people most affected by the decisions being made.
From there I spent years inside organizations like the Gates Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Latino Policy Forum, and Instituto del Progreso Latino. I led global retreats at the Gates Foundation, ran a national convening for BIPOC staff at Planned Parenthood, coordinated a multicultural leadership academy, and built programs from scratch. Along the way I learned firsthand how hard it is to live your values when everyone is stretched thin.
I started Cultivate to bring that inside experience to more teams at once. Today I partner with a small number of organizations at a time: stepping in as a fractional COO or Chief of Staff, building the systems that keep teams running, designing retreats and learning programs, and coaching leaders through growth and transition. I finish my MBA in December 2026, which sharpens the operations and strategy side of everything I do.
So when you tell me what's going on, chances are I've been there.
Where I've worked
Gates Foundation (Remote, Seattle Washington)
Senior Project Manager, DEI
For The Culture (Remote)
Founding Partner
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (Washington, DC)
Associate Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; previously Race Equity Initiative Project Manager
Latino Policy Forum (Chicago, IL)
Project Coordinator, Multicultural Leadership Academy
Instituto del Progreso Latino (Chicago, IL)
Various roles, including managing the integration of a national double blind study, managing a statewide job placement initiative, and program management of Mujer Avanzando
Resilience (formerly Rape Victim Advocates) (Chicago, IL)
Survivor Advocate & Prevention Educator
Recent clients
The Chicago Community Trust
Chicago Latines in Philanthropy (CLIP)
Urban Growers Collective
Fractional COO and Chief of Staff
Credentials
Executive MBA, Ducere Global Business School (December 2026)
ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory) Qualified Administrator
ICS (Intercultural Conflict Style) Certified
HIP Líderes Fellow, Hispanics in Philanthropy
Travel Advisor, Fora Travel
Notary Public
Bilingual: English and Spanish
What I bring to the room
An equity lens on everything
Values show up in how decisions get made, how budgets get set, and how meetings run. That's where I look first.
Tell me what you're working on.
Respect for the people closest to the work
They usually know what's broken and how to fix it. My job is to make room for that and turn it into a plan.
Care and directness, in equal parts
I'll ask the honest question, so the hard conversation actually happens and leads somewhere.