Jessica Valdes Jimenez

Jessica Valdes Jimenez is the Director of Externships and Placement-Based Learning. She has over two decades of experience as both an attorney and an educator. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of Student Services at the law school, where she oversaw academic advising, student support, and student engagement initiatives. Ms. Valdes Jimenez has also taught legal practice skills as a Lecturer in Law, mentoring students in writing, advocacy, and professional development. In practice, she has experience in employment-related counseling and training, internal investigations, and litigation. She has represented public and private companies, governmental organizations, and individuals in an array of litigation matters. She also has experience in government practice having served as a Trial Attorney at the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Valdes Jimenez clerked for the Honorable Chris M. McAliley in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Ms. Valdes Jimenez graduated from Columbia Law School as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, where she was a student editor of Columbia’s First-Year Moot Court Program, a Public Service Fellow, and member of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. She received her undergraduate degree from The George Washington University.