Jessica Lee, Associate Director and Chair of the Knowledge for Freedom Network

Jessica began her work in liberal education in 2011 as the coordinator of the Freedom and Citizenship (F&C) program at Columbia University’s Center for American Studies. She served as the program’s executive director until 2025. F&C invites local high school students from under-resourced communities to live on Columbia’s campus while taking part in an intensive humanities summer seminar. It continues working with students year-round to support their college applications and to guide them through a civic leadership project. F&C’s success has inspired other universities to run similar programs, and Jessica co-founded the Knowledge for Freedom network to support faculty, administrators, and students participating in such programs nationwide.

In addition to her work on liberal education, Jessica is a lecturer in history, specializing in United States immigration and citizenship. She received her BA in history and Italian literature from Bryn Mawr College and her PhD in history from Columbia University. Her current research examines how Italy’s fascist government created an Italian American voting block in the years before WWII.