I’m Jessica Carlson

Hi, I’m Jessica Carlson—marketer, writer, strategist, and professional problem-solver.

I started my career as a magazine editor and freelance writer, where I learned how to research deeply, plan thoughtfully, and tell a good story. Those early lessons still shape everything I do today, whether I’m untangling a brand’s message, building a new marketing process, or rewriting a fundraising appeal so it actually resonates. (And fun fact: I still like to tell a good story! I write essays, short stories, and hopefully a novel one day.)

Over the past two decades, I’ve worked with national nonprofits, media organizations, hospitals, and mission-driven businesses, both in-house and as a consultant. I’ve led teams, supported systems upgrades, improved marketing processes, developed brand and content strategies, and built tools to help teams measure what matters.

Before founding J. Carlson Creative, I led the marketing team at the D.C. Bar, the largest unified bar association in the U.S., and oversaw marketing and communications for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), engaging a network of women entrepreneurs. I also spent years in-house and as a consultant for large healthcare systems, spearheading new digital strategies, implementing CRM, and introducing content strategy as a discipline when it was a nascent concept.

I now live in Germany, where I run my consulting practice and write fiction and essays on the side. My work as a writer keeps me grounded in craft—and in curiosity. It reminds me that clarity matters. That words carry weight. And that whether you’re building a campaign or writing a story, the goal is the same: to connect. To persuade. To carry someone with you from one place to another.

If you’re looking for a partner who sees both the big picture and the little fixes, who brings structure to chaos, and who actually cares about the work—let’s talk.