JESSICA MINGUS, MSW
Co-Executive Director
Jessica became Lineage’s Co-Executive Director in 2021. She joined Lineage in 2017 as Lineage’s first Director of Programs, and was responsible for growing the depth and scope of our programs—including building out our work with the adult staff inside NYC systems. Jessica has designed dozens of Lineage’s programs across New York City; guides its program and curriculum development; and coaches its mindfulness teachers.
In fall 2022, she was selected as a Garrison Institute Fellow for 2022-2024.
Jessica is a social worker with clinical training in child and teen trauma treatment. Her research and career have been committed to co-creating care ecologies for Black and brown young people, and supporting culture-building inside systems to cultivate healing-centered praxis.
Prior to joining Lineage, she served as the Director of CUNY Start, a developmental education program focused on academic and social-emotional skills of first generation college students at Hostos Community College in the South Bronx.
Jessica is a social worker with clinical training in child and teen trauma treatment and a Qualified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher through the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at UMass Medical School. She holds a B.A. from Princeton University, and MSW from the Silberman School of Social Work. She is the co-author of “Unpacking racism, poverty and trauma’s impact on the school-to-prison pipeline” in Strategies for Deconstructing Racism in the Health and Human Services (Oxford University Press). Jessica is also committed to her local community, where she contributes as an organizer and peer advocate for caregivers of young children with disabilities navigating interpersonal and systemic ableism.
She is grateful for the infinite inspiration and learnings she draws from her beloved son, village(s), and ancestors for their support and perspective along her path.