Jessica Valenti

Called “one of the foremost writers and thinkers of her generation” by Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, Jessica Valenti has been leading the national conversation on modern feminism for more than a decade. A New York Times best-selling author of five books and a columnist at the Guardian US, Valenti has also been widely credited with sparking the online wave of the women’s movement.

Before she was lauded by Sheryl Sandberg in Lean In and disparaged by Sarah Palin in Going Rogue, Jessica founded the ground-breaking blog Feministing.com in 2004. Columbia Journalism Review called it “head and shoulders above almost any writing on women’s issues in mainstream media.”

Valenti’s books have been critical and cultural hits: The Purity Myth was made into a documentary by the Media Education Foundation, and Yes Means Yes inspired sexual assault legislation of the same name across the country and on campuses. Her most recent book, Sex Object: A Memoir – called “bold and unflinching” by Publishers Weekly – was a critical hit.

Valenti’s articles have topped the most-read lists at The Atlantic, the Guardian US, and The Washington Post. She has also written for The New York Times, Salon, The American Prospect, Bitch, Ms. Magazine and The Toast.

She has a Masters degree in Gender Studies from Rutgers University.