Dr. Jessica Nicholas is the Managing Advocate for the Community Legal Access Workshops Program at The Immigration Project. She is originally from the Seattle area, where she acquired her Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish as well as a Master’s degree in Teaching from Western Washington University. Jessica then went on to earn her Master’s and PhD in French Linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a Department of Justice Partially Accredited Representative.

Jessica started working at The Immigration Project as a volunteer at the Champaign office in October 2017, then completed the Comprehensive Overview in Immigration Law course in November 2017. When she completed her doctorate in 2018, she moved to Bloomington in order to pursue a full-time career in secondary language education, and continued to volunteer with TIP at the Normal office. She was hired as part-time staff in April 2021, transitioning to full-time in June 2023. Since her time at TIP, Jessica has worked various positions, including working with the Welcome Center to distribute COVID relief, training new translators and interpreters, coordinating the New Americans Initiative program, and serving as the Citizenship and DACA Program Manager.

For Jessica, it has been a joy and a blessing to see The Immigration Project grow in its capacity to serve. She also enjoys serving her community as a translator, and maintaining her connections to the local schools.