Jillian Edge was born and raised in California where she attended University of California, Los Angeles studying literature and classical civilizations. She spent a year studying abroad in England and traveling through Europe and Egypt. Following graduation, Jillian moved to Seattle and worked in a communications and outreach position for an emergency management department. There, she ran two programs as well as various public engagement activities. She often collaborated with the public health department which led her to pursue a Master of Public Health. After moving back to California, Jillian received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2016 and has been studying flash flooding impacts in Malaysia for the past year. In her free time (somewhere between finishing her thesis and exploring South East Asia), Jillian enjoys hiking and creative writing.