Jessamyn Sarmiento

Jessamyn Sarmiento has extensive experience in helping organizations succeed in some of the world’s most complex and competitive environments. From working for two U.S presidents to providing strategic consulting to corporate and nonprofit CEOs to launching a successful start-up company, she brings significant global marketing and communications expertise and a passion for “saving and changing lives” to her role leading World Food Program USA’s high-impact, multi-channel marketing, communications and small donor strategy.

Prior to joining World Food Program USA, Jessamyn was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead communications and public affairs for the U.S. government’s arts agency, National Endowment for the Arts, where she led a strategic brand refresh, helped the agency navigate reputational issues and produced the twice Emmy-nominated video series, the United States of Arts.  Before that, she served as senior vice president and partner at global communications firm Fleishman-Hillard, where she developed and managed a highly successful consumer marketing practice representing government, non-profit and international organizations.

Jessamyn briefly left the marketing and communications world to launch a start-up entertainment tech company that competed with global companies to produce, manufacture and distribute music content and product for independent artists and labels. Earlier in her career, she gained a deep understanding of journalism and the world of media while at National Public Radio (NPR), where she was the Vice President of Communications. In 1994, Jessamyn was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve in his administration, first at The White House as a regional press secretary and then as division chief for media relations at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Jessamyn has deep experience in national and local politics, and in organizing and executing advocacy campaigns around issues such as economic and health security, voter rights and civil rights. She campaigned and was elected to represent Maryland’s eighth Congressional District at the 1996 Democratic National Convention.