
Jessica Morse
Jessica Morse is the Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience at the
California Natural Resources Agency. She is coordinating California’s approach to
wildfire resilience including increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration and
vegetation treatment. Jessica was the architect of the Governor’s $1.5 billion wildfire
resilience strategy and developed the joint forest stewardship strategy between California
the US Forest Service signed in 2020. Prior to joining Governor Newsom’s administration, Jessica spent nearly ten years in
National Security working for the Defense Department, State Department and the US
Agency for International Development. Her assignments included a year and a half in
Baghdad, Iraq, as well as tours in India, Myanmar, and US Pacific Command. Throughout her career she designed and executed innovative strategies across agencies
and governments, including a strategy using renewable energy technology transfer as a
catalyst for US defense engagement with India. Jessica is a 5th generation Northern Californian. She and her family still own their
original homestead forestland in the Sierra foothills. Jessica is an outdoor enthusiast and
can be found backpacking, skiing and fishing throughout the Sierra. She hiked 500 miles
of the Pacific Crest Trail. Ms. Morse holds a Masters of Public Affairs from Princeton University and a Bachelor Arts in economics from Principia College. In 2018, Morse ran for U.S. Congress in California’s 4th Congressional District.