ENTREPRENEUR. FOUNDER.
INVESTOR. BOARD MEMBER.
HOST.
Jessica Santana is the Host of Behind The Work, the premier podcast and video series for ambitious professionals ready to level up their lives, careers, and businesses. With 19K followers across social platforms, Behind The Work has built one of the most engaged communities in the business and career space — reaching a core audience of 25-to-44-year-olds, 65% of whom identify as women.
Behind The Work isn't a highlight reel. It's the conversation that happens after the press release — with founders, executives, and operators who have done the real work, made the hard calls, and built something that lasts. Jessica brings to every episode what she has spent almost two decades earning in rooms most people never get access to: unfiltered insight, strategic depth, and the kind of radical honesty that actually moves people forward.
That credibility is grounded in an extraordinary career. Jessica is the co-founder and CEO of America On Tech (AOT), a nationally recognized organization preparing the next generation of technology leaders from underestimated communities. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Atlanta, AOT has raised over $50 million for its programs and has been featured by Forbes, CNN, TechCrunch, BET, The Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, and Sirius XM Radio, among others. Prior to AOT, she built her operational foundation as a technology consultant at Accenture and Deloitte, advising global brands on strategy and transformation.
A Brooklyn girl at heart, Jessica's drive to build, serve, and create opportunity is rooted in the community that shaped her. That ethos runs through everything she does — from the mic to the boardroom. She currently serves on the boards of Camelback Ventures and Student Achievement Partners, two organizations at the forefront of education and economic mobility.
Her impact has been recognized by the most respected institutions in business, philanthropy, and civic leadership. Jessica is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Crain's New York 40 Under 40 recipient, and a Camelback Ventures Guardian Award winner — given to leaders revolutionizing economic and community development. She was named an Inaugural Leader to the Robin Hood Foundation's Power Fund, a Brooklyn Hero by City and State NY, and the recipient of the Council of Urban Professionals' Inaugural Technology Catalyst Award. She is an Ashoka Emerging Innovator, a Pahara Institute Next-Gen Leader, and has been recognized by Morgan Stanley, JPMorganChase, Wells Fargo, and Deloitte as an emerging and future leader in her field.
Jessica holds prestigious fellowships with the Roddenberry Foundation, Camelback Ventures, Points of Light Civic Accelerator, and 4.0 Schools, among others. She served as one of the inaugural technology anchors on Univision and was a member of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community. She has spoken to over 100 audiences worldwide, including stages at SXSW Edu, TechCrunch, Google for Entrepreneurs, the White House, Thomson Reuters, and Bloomberg.
Jessica holds degrees in Accounting and Information Technology from Syracuse University and completed her Executive Education at Columbia Business School.