Christine fancies herself an expert. Perhaps it’s because she always seems to play one on screen. You can see her recurring on the CBS hit show, Blue Bloods as the snarky M.E. who constantly schools Donny Wahlberg. She stars opposite Jim Parsons as the head cancer nurse in the Michael Showalter feature film, Spoiler Alert. And, as the new face of Lubriderm, she plays a quirky dermatologist in a light blue lab coat (obviously she’s a real skin expert). Apart from these and other TV/film roles, she is a real-life expert in writing.  Her solo shows, Baby Cow and Such Nice Shoes,  garnered rave reviews in the New York City independent theater world and received a New York Innovative Theater award nomination. She teaches Playwriting at Wilkes University. Follow her on Instagram or TikTok.

Jessica has taught classes about banned books and had her own book banned. Her first book, After the Last Border,  won the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, a Christopher Award, and was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice book; it was challenged in several libraries. Her next nonfiction book, We Were Illegal, comes out in June 2024. She's been a columnist for Catapult and written for The New York Times, The Atlantic,  Washington Post, and many other places.  She has a PhD in literature from the University of Texas and teaches Creative Nonfiction at Wilkes University. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.