This month we are shining the spotlight on Jess Peters, co-founder of RIDDL. Jess joined the team in 2019 as CRO and is now the COO. She has long had a connection with impact, both on a local and global level. We sat down with Jess for a short Q&A about her social impact work and how she first got involved with RIDDL.
Q: Jess, what drives you to do the work you do?
Jess: I’m motivated to build a more sustainable world by helping organizations hit their full potential. I do this by working directly with new and existing customers and through product development. I have always been driven to make an impact in the world, helping companies both in my home province of New Brunswick and abroad. I’ve worked with Ability NB and CMHANB here in NB and CEPIA in Costa Rica, communicating their impact and working to gain the funding they need to make big changes in the world. This has been a huge accomplishment of mine.
Q: Can you talk to us a bit about your past and how you got interested in social impact?
Jess: I spent my high school years volunteering with the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital [in Fredericton, NB] in many different capacities. Once leaving university I spent some time traveling the world and was exposed to many different cultures and lifestyles in multiple countries. Noting the way cultures work together and what divides them has always been a curiosity of mine.
While volunteering in Guatemala at Casa Jackson Hospital for Malnourished Children, I saw how simple it could be to drive change on a large scale. A total of 50% of children in Guatemala between ages one and five suffer from malnutrition. By simply educating families on proper nutrition — something that we take for granted in the western world — it had such major effect on children and their families. Seeing that was life changing for me.
Q: Why did you decide to join RIDDL?
Jess: When Jenelle Sobey [CEO] started talking to me about RIDDL, I knew that I needed to help move the dial forward with it. She envisioned having a database of [social impact]indicators that businesses and organizations could see, which would show what’s worked in the past and which they could use to drive future impact. I recognized immediately the powerful opportunity in front of me.
Q: Where do you see yourself providing true value with RIDDL and what do you love about your work?
Jess: I am connected to increasing the communications between companies or organizations and investors and starting meaningful conversations rather than having required reports passed along without a second thought.
I love getting to work with the organizations and companies to organize the impact they are driving and helping them identify the data points they already have to support this data. When people see how simple it can be, they begin to visualize what the change they are making actually looks like rather than simply creating a bunch of required reports. To me, THAT is the magic. When investors say thank you for actually receiving a meaningful report that they can use to then increase funding, it truly is magic.
Thank you for your time and your incredible dedication to social impact, Jess. To talk to Jess or a team member about how RIDDL can help your organization, contact us.
Additional background info on Jess Peters:
Prior to RIDDL, Jess was the Director of Accounts and Business Development at Code + Mortar, an interactive web and invention firm, globally recognized by the Webby’s (the Oscars of the web). Code + Mortar was acquired by Revolve in February 2020.
Between 2013–2016, Jess was the National Account Manager for clients such as Rogers Communications, Moneris Solutions, and Eastlink. Jess coached 150+ sales representatives and was responsible for $5 million in annual sales targets, identifying new revenue streams, data reviews, and launching new products.
As a mentor to emerging females in technology, Jessica mentors Venor (2018 — Present) in Atlantic Canada and Founders Institute (2017 — Present) in their global program, mentoring pre-seed startups.
Originally from Fredericton, Jess received a BA from Saint Francis Xavier University, has worked in Seoul, the US, and studied across Canada. She completed a Post Graduate Certification in Hospitality and Tourism Operations Management (2014). Jess has completed a certification in User Experience (2017) and holds a certification in Product Management (2018).
