About Jesse

Jessica (Jesse) Baen has devoted her career to bridging divides, from mediating neighbor and workplace disputes to facilitating dialogue around identity, religion and politics. Early in her career, this passion led her from East Bay Community Mediation all the way to the prison at Guantanamo Bay, where she advocated for prisoners’ right to a fair trial and humane treatment. From 2019 to 2023, Jesse served as a mediator, Restorative Justice practitioner and trainer for New York City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. In 2023 Jesse supported the launch of the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit at New York State’s Division of Human Rights. As Assistant Director, she oversaw the creation of the state’s first hate and bias support hotline and provided conflict resolution services and Restorative circles to communities experiencing hate and bias.

Jesse serves on the board of the Dispute Resolution Center in Middletown, NY.

Jesse’s private clients have included Mediators Beyond Borders, the Democracy, Politics and Conflict Engagement Initiative, Make America Dinner Again, Soliya, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Family Promise, Drew University’s Center on Religion and Conflict, the New Jersey Interfaith Coalition and Middle Collegiate Church.

A New York City native, Jesse lives Kingston, NY and travels regularly to NYC and throughout the Tri-State Area.

Education and Training

Jesse received mediation certification from the Conciliation Forums of Oakland and pursued additional training at the New York Peace Institute, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, and the Center for Dispute Resolution. Jesse is a certified CINERGY Conflict Management Coach.

Jesse was awarded Advanced Facilitation Training Certification from the United Nations and has pursued additional facilitation training through the Center for Nonviolent Communication, Soliya, the Divided Communities Project at Ohio School of Law, the Seachange Collective and Narrative 4 Story Exchange. Jesse was trained in Restorative Circle Keeping with Kay Pranis and at the Center for Justice at Columbia University.

She received Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from McGill University and a Master of Public Affairs in International Relations from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

Resume