Jessamyn W. Rodriguez,
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Photo credit: Daniel Krieger

Jessamyn has used her dual passions for baking and social justice to lead the growth of Hot Bread Kitchen from a visionary idea to a thriving bakery and workforce development program.

In 2010, Jessamyn was selected as an inaugural entrepreneur for The Hitachi Foundation’s Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs grant, and was also awarded the first annual Coro New York Alumni Award for Civic Leadership. She also received a 2008 Echoing Green Fellowship and the Eileen Fisher Company’s Grant for Women Entrepreneurs in 2007.

Before starting Hot Bread Kitchen, Jessamyn spent a decade working for NGOs, the government, and the United Nations. Focusing on human rights, education, and immigration issues, Jessamyn’s work has taken her to Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bosnia, Guatemala, and Chile.

Jessamyn has an MPA from Columbia University, a BA from the University of British Columbia and a Master Baker certificate from the New School University. She was also the first woman hired as a baker at Chef Daniel Boulud’s renowned Restaurant Daniel.

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