As the current President and Operations Manager for Firestorm, Jess started with his father Jim in 1997 right after high school graduation. Jess started as a rookie on a 20 person handcrew and within six years was a certified Single Resource Crew Boss running his own twenty person crew while working double duty to take over the operation management position. In 2007, Jess was able to relinquish his Crew Superintendent position to other up and coming young leaders in the organization, whom he had helped train, and then stepped into the role as the Business and Operations Manager.
Jess still enjoys getting out and working with the firefighters on the ground, but as Firestorm has become much more than just a wildland firefighting agency, most of his time is found working on the future of Firestorm and being one step ahead. Jess sits on the Board and Advisory Board for Firestorm. He also serves as a Board Member for the National Wildfire Suppression Association.