Jessica Andino is emerging as a force for change in Iowa City and beyond. As the executive director of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition, her work has centered on addressing systemic barriers through education, outreach, and community advocacy. Ms. Andino’s interest in advocacy began early, inspired by challenges she witnessed in underserved areas while […]
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Click here to purchase a paywall bypass linkJessica Andino is emerging as a force for change in Iowa City and beyond.
As the executive director of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition, her work has centered on addressing systemic barriers through education, outreach, and community advocacy.
Ms. Andino’s interest in advocacy began early, inspired by challenges she witnessed in underserved areas while growing up in Johnson County communities. At the University of Iowa, she studied health and human physiology with an emphasis in health promotion, as well as Spanish. She also pursued a master’s degree in community and behavioral health, while working at UI Health Care full-time in research.
Currently, she’s working toward a Ph.D. to better understand how to create meaningful change within her niche, studying housing as a social determinant of health. In addition to being passionate about serving her local communities, Ms. Andino said she chose this area because of a gap in research on the subject.
“It was seeing the current events and crises that were within our community, and the lack of, not resources, but the lack of knowledge, especially in an academic realm that was focused on them,” Ms. Andino said. “Part of my dissertation work is just providing a comprehensive literature review of items that are related to housing and health, all those search terms, and there is a surprising gap.”
Specifically, Ms. Andino is researching manufactured housing, including mobile homes and trailers, and working with communities that live in low-income housing. She first got involved with local housing advocacy after becoming a member of the housing coalition.
“I started attending monthly community meetings and seeing what was going on, and really learning from the previous executive director about the local issues that we have here in housing,” Ms. Andino said. “Housing really is one of the social determinants of health that everybody interacts with every single day, whether they have housing or don’t have housing.”
Her current role as executive director involves working with community organizations, policymakers, and residents to develop programs that address pressing social issues.
“I am really, really passionate about the residents that I serve, especially in manufactured home communities. I get invited into their living rooms. I get to know their dogs, I get to know their children,” Ms. Andino said. “And so just seeing how these amazing people have been primarily victimized by predatory landlords or out-of-state entities, capital investment firms, has really sparked a passion.”
Beyond housing, Ms. Andino has also been active in supporting youth programs, particularly those that provide mentorship and career development opportunities. Ms. Andino was also a volunteer with the Center for Worker Justice, as well as numerous other local nonprofits.
In letters of recognition for her nomination as an Emerging Woman of Influence, colleagues and mentors have described her as one of the most visible proponents of development and fundraising in affordable housing in the area.
“Jessica’s passion for her work is truly contagious,” wrote Ruthina Malone, Board President of the ICCSD Board of Education and Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition Board. “Her ability to identify and secure partnerships with businesses, recruit new board members, and advocate for families in need is nothing short of remarkable. Jessica’s unwavering dedication and enthusiasm have been instrumental in driving the coalition’s success and making a tangible difference in our community.”
Looking ahead, Ms. Andino said her main goal is to stay in Johnson County and continue to advocate for housing solutions. However, she also has plans to move in a more policy-focused direction.
“I may make the push to do some sort of political seat at some point again...Younger me would have never said this, but I’m now really interested in policy,” Ms. Andino said. “There’s a lot of state-level factors that are going on and, you know, national political things, but I’m always trying to serve my community in the best way that I can.”
