About Jess Semaan

Jess is a queer Lebanese poet, mental health professional and speaker. She studies subjects of immigration, complex trauma and belonging through her writing and as a researcher. Her first poetry book “Child of the Moon” was published by Andrews McMeel in 2019 and sold over 14,000 copies. Her second book "Your Therapist is Depressed Too" came out in 2023 and chronicles experiences of a new therapist whose home country is collapsing during the pandemic. She runs workshops and groups at various institutions including UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz as well her own groups. Semaan immigrated to the United States  from Beirut, to pursue an MBA at Stanford and went on to earn an MA in counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies. Prior to following this path, she was one of the early hires at Airbnb, helping to scale the company. She then founded The Passion Co., an organization that helps people find and pursue their passions. 

Semaan resides on Ohlone land (Oakland, CA) with her partner, their two cats and spends summers in her home country Lebanon.