Jessica Jonas

is the Chief Legal Officer of the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit which protects the rights of open source developers who work on FOSS projects like bitcoin. Prior to joining the BLDF, Ms. Jonas was Associate General Counsel at Gemini Trust Company, LLC, where she headed the commercial, employment, litigation, and corporate legal teams and played a critical role in the firm’s growth strategy.

Prior to joining Gemini, Ms. Jonas served as a Privacy lawyer in the General Counsel’s Organization at American Express. During her time at Amex, Jessica was deeply involved in the General Counsel’s Organizations Diversity Counsel, organizing recruiting events, speaker series, and the diversity summer internship program in partnership with the NYCBA. Prior to her in‐​house roles, Ms. Jonas worked as a litigator at a boutique in New York City, and served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Ms. Jonas earned her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University.

Ms. Jonas pushes for diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal community as a member of the South Asian Bar Association of New York and the Asian American Bar Association of New York. Ms. Jonas is also committed to pro bono work, in particular, providing legal services to small business owners in New York City.

Ms. Jonas lives in New York City with her husband and three children. And yes, she would always rather be on the beach.