Jessyca Mathews received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint in English, with a minor in history, with a Specialization in Secondary Education. She received her Masters in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College. Along with these degrees, Jessyca attended Michigan State University and is a member of the Red Cedar Writing Project.
Ms. Mathews is a language arts teacher at Carman-Ainsworth High School and a Racial, Environmental Justice, and Institutional Racism activist. In 2017, Jessyca was named a finalist for the NEA’s Social Justice Activist of the Year for her work on the Flint water crisis. Jessyca has done national interviews, projects, protest, and community actions to speak out for those affected by the Flint water crisis. In celebration of her activism work, Jessyca was named the 2018 Secondary English Teacher of the Year from the Michigan Council of Teachers of English and the 2018 National Sanford Award Winner for being the most inspirational teacher in Michigan.
Recently, Jessyca was awarded Regional Teacher of the Year from the state of Michigan and was a finalist for Michigan Teacher of the Year 2019-2020.
Along with her activism work, she is a prominent member of the writing community. In 2013, Jessyca Mathews won a national contest sponsored by MANA Publishing and was named the 2013 Passion for Poetry writer. After winning this prestigious award, Jessyca was able to publish her first poetry collection, Simply: A Collection of Poetry. In 2015 she published her memoir, 318: A Chubby Chick’s Tale of Weight Loss Surgery. She co-wrote her first play, Appointments in 2017, which features a focus on the Flint water crisis. She also has been published writer in Nia Magazine, Pure Haiku, Mighty Magazine, and is now a blogger for Teaching Tolerance.