When Jessica was born, both of her parents were shocked to find out that their baby did not have arms. They had no idea that she would be born differently because the pregnancy tests all showed average results. With the shock and unexpected news, Jessica’s mother Inez had a tough time accepting the truth and became quietly anxious about Jessica’s future.
Jessica’s parents decided to integrate her into a regular environment as much as possible. She was enrolled in a public school, not a private or special needs school. Never thinking she was different, she did whatever the other children would do. But on the playground during recess, Jessica felt limited as people around her were overprotective and prevented her from climbing up the slide. In anger and frustration, Jessica sat on the swings dreaming of flying.
Jessica graduated from the University of Arizona with a
degree in Psychology and Communication. From the challenges she has overcome, she became an inspiration to many. Jessica realized her words and experience are a natural source of encouragement and optimism for many, which gave rise to her motivational speaking business. Around the same time, she decided to pursue flight lessons to overcome her greatest fear: flying. After an arduous three years, Jessica became a certified pilot, earning the title of the first woman to fly an airplane with her feet.
For almost 20 years, Jessica has initiated many inspirational connections with people with disabilities, especially children, through one-on-one mentoring and more recently through her YouTube show Toe Talks. To date, Jessica has personally mentored over 100 children with disabilities and touched more than half a million people with Toe Talks. In January 2017, the US government legally recognized her efforts with the approval of Rightfooted Foundation International (RFI) as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.
