Biography
Jessica Meese, MS, CCC-SLP is Diné and from Tohlakai, NM on the Navajo reservation. She is Naaneesht’ézhi Táchii’nii (Charcoal Streaked of the Red Running into the Water) and born for Tł’ááshchí’i (Red Bottom People). Her maternal grandfather’s clan is ‘Áshįįhi (Salt People) and her paternal grandfather is Bilagáana. She joined the Center for Indigenous Health in January of 2024.
Jessica works as a research coordinator based in Albuquerque, NM. She is currently assisting with the +Language is Medicine program based on the Navajo Nation. Prior to joining the Center, Jessica worked as a speech-language pathologist at a Native American charter school where she provided services for K-12 students. She has also worked in early intervention programs in New Mexico and on the Navajo reservation. After growing up on the reservation, she was able to see firsthand the lack of resources and education about language development, communication across the lifespan, and access to SLP services on the reservation. Jessica is a licensed speech-language pathologist and she received her master’s degree from the University of New Mexico.
She had the opportunity to work in her university’s neuro rehabilitation lab where she focused primarily on research and provided services for individuals with aphasia/primary progressive aphasia as a result of TBI or stroke. Additionally, she worked with a team to develop educational videos about stroke and tramautic brain injury in the Navajo language. From the University of New Mexico, she also received a BA in Speech and Hearing Sciences, a BA in Psychology, and an AA in Early Childhood Multicultural Education.