Jarrod is a San Diego native with a background in community engagement, corporate culture, sustainability, government/media relations, and startup ecosystems. Jarrod has worked for and with various types of organizations—Fortune 500s, startups, nonprofits, NGOs, governments, and academia. Thanks to long stints living and working in Mexico and Brazil, Russell is proficient in both Spanish and Portuguese.

He is a two-time UCSD graduate with a master’s from the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), where he focused on corporate responsibility, environmental policy, and economic development. He also has a bachelor’s in international political science and a minor physics. Jarrod has held various past leadership positions. He was the director of public affairs for a 100-employee San Diego startup. He was a board member of the Downtown San Diego Partnership and chaired the organization’s Tech-Startup Committee. He was an active member of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.