PROGRAMMING

Meet Jess, Bushwick’s Venn Host

By

Angela Cravens

– VOL. 6

Venn Hosts are our trained neighborhood experts and the human face of the Venn platform. They help Neighbors participate in and navigate their community, as well as introduce new Neighbors to their neighborhood.

Meet Jess! The Bushwick Venn Host describes herself as a chameleon, and loves bringing curiosity and creativity to dreaming up meaningful programs for the neighborhood.

Hometown

Brooklyn

Where to Find Me

General Irving. On Fridays it’s the best place to grab a coffee and “work from home” i.e. run into your friends and organize weekend plans.

Image of Bushwick Venn Host Jess Prestia

Jess, pictured at left, can often be found orbiting between the Venn Cowork and General Irving. Here, she poses with Neighbors and other Venn Hosts at a recent community dinner at General Irving.

Small Biz Shoutout

Evil Twin Brewing on George Street is one of my favorite spaces to recharge with a coffee or a cold beer. With its greenhouse-like structure, and tons of plants, its feels like a quick escape from the concrete jungle.

What I Love About Being a Venn Host

Ever since I was a kid, I never felt I belonged to one group of friends or “scene” here in New York. The city offers so much, and I was driven by my curiosity to experience different cultures, traditions and lifestyles. My ability to ‘chameleon’ allows me to connect with different people and find the commonality between all of us as neighbors.

What I Love About Bushwick

Each block really has its own flavor. Depending on your lifestyle, you can find the right nook for you in this neighborhood. Driven by creative expression and the arts, you just need to knock on the right door to find an unexpected adventure.

When you get invited to birthdays, holiday parties and the like, you really feel like you have made a positive impact in the community you’re working for

Jess organized an Earth Day workshop for Neighbors in the backyard of the Cowork in partnership with the plant delivery service Rooted.

Favorite Recent Event

Slightly Slanted Studios was an amazing neighbor-led makers fair at General Irving. All the vendors and programming was curated by Christina Wong and McKenzie Reiland. I brought home some hand-made natural dye pieces to remember it by.

The Neighborhood Experience

When you get invited to birthdays, holiday parties and the like, you really feel like you have made a positive impact in the community you’re working for.

Having been here for three years, I still keep in touch with Neighbors who have moved on in their lives and every connection has been a genuine one.