Jezz Chung by Jay Blacks.jpg

JEZZ CHUNG (who uses they/them pronouns) is an industry-recognized creative leader and

multidisciplinary artist exploring personal and collective change. Their neurodivergent, queer, Korean American experiences greatly shape their approach to community engagement, communications strategy, brand storytelling, and art-making.

A trusted partner across fashion, beauty, tech, and lifestyle brands, they’ve collaborated with Google, Meta, REI, Omnicom, and Skillshare, and have been mentoring young creative talent for 14+ years.



After studying communication theory and behavioral psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, they began their career at the advertising agency responsible for Apple’s global branding and storytelling. Going on to shape ideas and copy for brands like YouTube, Sonos, and Sally Hansen, Jezz made headlines in 2019 for designing a role that merged their expertise in cultural insights, creative partnerships, and community engagement. Their intersectional, grounded approach resonates across multiple generations and has been cited as transformative, thought provoking, and refreshingly honest.



Originally from Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas, they are back in Los Angeles after almost a decade away in New York City, continuing to work with organizations around the world to facilitate social change and elevate brand strategy

. Jezz is passionate about imagination, collaboration, and projects that spark meaningful dialogue and embrace a playful spirit. They are an alum of experimental theater company New York Neo-Futurists, a member of SAG-AFTRA, and a jury for various media awards.

Photography by @thejayblacks and @jessxsnow

Jezz has been featured internationally by The Folklore, Deem Journal, El País, Público, Them, Levi’s, and UGG, and has contributed sociopolitical and cultural commentary for Washington Post’s The Lily, Free The Work, Working Not Working Magazine, Adweek, and i-D. They’ve been interviewed by Time Out about the healing power of art and by New York Magazine’s The Cut about the empowering act of collective dreaming. Recognized for their vibrant personality and informative content, they have been a featured artist and have appeared in campaigns for Marni, Teen Vogue, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, NYX, Squarespace, Paper Mag, and LinkedIn.

Their voice has been described as relatable, visionary, practical, and inspiring.



Jezz is represented by Community New York, Ayesha Pande Literary, and Pande Lectures Management.



They have been recognized as a Social Shaper by the Malala Fund and Melanin Unscripted, a Logo TV Pride honoree, and a Vogue x CFDA Adaptive Fashion Muse.

The mission behind their multidimensional work comes back to two core intentions: help people feel less alone and more alive.

You can follow their journey @jezzchung, subscribe to their newsletter jezzchung.substack.com, listen to their podcast Dreaming Different, and find their debut collection This Way to Change anywhere books are sold.

SPEAKING & FACILITATION

  • ADCOLOR panelist: Five Woke Women (Sept 2017)

  • American Association of Advertising Agencies Multicultural Advertising Intern Program orientation panelist (Aug 2018)

  • ADCOLOR Futures welcome dinner panelist (Sept 2017) Asians for ADCOLOR dinner & discussion host (Sept 2018)

  • Advertising Week main stage panelist: A Conversation with the Future (Sept 2018)

  • The Female Quotient Girls’ Lounge at Advertising Week panelist: Advocacy through Storytelling (Sept 2018)

  • The Wing panel moderator: Women of Color in Music (Feb 2019)

  • American Advertising Federation Most Promising Multicultural Students Luncheon Rising Star Award speaker (Feb 2019)

  • Kent State University speaker (March 2019) • MIMconnect panelist & group discussion facilitator: Cross-cultural Communication (May 2019)

  • 4A’s MAIP Alumni panelist & group discussion facilitator: Wellness at Work (May 2019)

  • 4A’s MAIP orientation panelist (June 2019)

  • 4A’s MAIP fellows organizer and facilitator: The Business of Being You (July 2019)

  • She Runs It Multicultural Bootcamp panelist (July 2019)

  • ADCOLOR Futures Orientation keynote speaker: A Guide to Designing Your Future (Sept 2019)

  • The University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Advertising Group keynote speaker (Oct 2019)

  • SCAD Black Student Association Embrace Conference panelist (Oct 2019)

  • 3% Conference roundtable discussion facilitator: Let’s Talk Burnout & Emotional Well-being (Nov 2019)

  • Foreground Summit interactive keynote talk + workshop on unblocking creativity and living with intentional purpose (Nov 2019)

  • AAF Most Promising Multicultural Students program panel moderator: Notes To My Younger Self (Feb 2020)

  • 4A’s MAIP Alumni Summit panelist: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leaders and the Roles We Play (Feb 2020)

  • Customized workshops for Ethel’s Club, MAIP Alumni, MAIP fellows, Wethos, Say Space, MIMconnect, STRTGST (March - August 2020)

  • Working Not Working webinar series: Equity in Practice | How equity elevates our creativity, Redefining workplace culture (2020)

  • The Marketing Arm workshop: What can I do to build an equitable future? (July 2020) 

  • The Marketing Arm: Building Toolkits for Emotional Resilience (Oct 2020)

  • Facebook Agency Women’s Leadership Day “4 Ways to Use Power with Purpose” (Oct 2020)

  • ADCOLOR 2020 “Asian Americans Look Back on 2020” moderator + “Allyship for Black Lives” panelist (Sept 2020)

  • Out for Undergrad LGBTQIA+ Symposium keynote speaker (Oct 2020)

  • Writer’s Club “Dreaming Bigger Futures” writing workshop host (Oct 2020)

  • Ethel’s Club “Consciously Crafting a Liberated Lifestyle” workshop facilitation (Nov 2020)

  • Ethel’s Club x Wethos “Sharing the Wealth: Equity in Collaboration (Nov 2020)

  • Ethel’s Club workshop facilitation for BIPOC: “Dreaming into the future” (Jan 2021)

  • Hyper Island Design Department guest lecture: “The Business of Being You” (Feb 2021)

  • Skillshare’s WoClub Women History Month signature event keynote presentation: “From Theory to Practice: Building a Lifestyle Around Equity & Justice” (March 2021)

  • Omnicom nationwide session for AAPI Hope, Healing, and Well-Being (March 2021)

  • Deutsch LA workshop facilitation: Addressing Anti-Asian Racism (March 2021)

  • United Airlines panel: A discussion on addressing hate towards AAPI communities (March 2021)

  • Columbia University Advocates for Asian American Health: Well-being toolkit workshop (April 2021)

  • Facebook Community Connect: A Discussion with AAPI Community Leaders (April 2021)

  • Amazon Music: Japanese Breakfast and Jezz Chung (May 2021)

  • Anomaly AAPIHM Speaker (May 2021)

  • 4 Ways to Put Allyship into Action with Amazon (September 2021)

  • Cultural breakdown with Taco bell (November 2021)

  • Host for Google’s Creativity Starts from Within: Accessibility for a more innovative world (Dec 2021)

  • Interrupting Bias and Interpersonal Communication with Seed (January 2022)

  • Creativity For Change with ZenDesk (March 2022)

  • Day of Healing against API Hate (March 2022)

  • Building Toolkits for Well-being with Google X (March 2022)

  • APIHM at RGA (May 2022)

  • Deem Forum, Neurodiversity panel (January 2022)

  • Career Pivots and Advocating For Your Future with ADCOLOR (June 2022)

  • Queer and Trans Disabled Mental Health (September 2022)

  • Eldest Daughter podcast (August 2023)

  • Change is a Creative Practice with Slow Factory’s Open Edu (August 2023)

  • Madness Cafe podcast about “This Way to Change” (April 2024)

  • Healing Modalities at Deem Symposium, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (May 2024)

  • Commencement Speaker at Smith College School for Social Work (August 2024)

  • Into Healing podcast (October 2024)

  • So, Life Wants You Dead podcast (February 2025)

  • Resilient Futures at New Museum’s DEMO2025 (June 2025)

 

HONORS & AWARDS

I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT

  • Investing in queer, neurodivergent, disabled artists

  • Merging Eastern and Western healing modalities to address individual mental health & collective well-being

  • Building satisfaction and sustainability into the creative process

  • Social impact

  • Lifestyle design

FUN FACTS

  • Karaoke is my favorite form of therapy

  • I’ve lived in 6 states

  • Started playing the ukulele as a pandemic hobby

  • Very much enjoyed recording the voiceover for their audiobook

  • Often hyperfixating on a niche topic (ask about my current rotation of special interests)

SOMETHING TO READ

In Burnout, siblings and researchers Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski break down the factors that lead to burnout and why it has become such a phenomenon. Specifically for people who are socially perceived as women, the emotional labor of people pleasing contributes to a sense of fatigue. As we navigate the impact of an ongoing pandemic and the conditions that led us here, this book provides some methods to improve our sense of doom and move us into compassion and care, starting with how we treat ourselves.

SOMETHING TO WATCH

Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a Korean drama streaming on Netflix that follows a charming autistic lawyer named Woo Young Woo as she begins a job at a prestigious law firm. While adding invaluable insight to high-stakes cases, she navigates both overt and subtle acts of ableism that she’s forced to overcome with the support of her single father and an emerging love interest. Though I wish the character was played by someone who is actually autistic, the show features a character rarely portrayed in film and TV. For that, it’s a worthy watch.

SOMETHING TO LISTEN TO

By writer and somatics practitioner Prentis Hemphill, this podcast explores what it means to be embodied in service of a collective cause. Guests include abolitionist teachers and movement stewards as they process the crises of the moment while offering alternative modalities of thinking to bring us closer to a world that honors what we truly need. Becoming the People is a gentle invitation back into our bodies, so that we may connect more deeply with ourselves and each other.