Jessica Carter currently serves as the Court Director for the Yurok Tribe where she has held this position for the last 12 years in developing the tribal justice system. She is an enrolled member of the Yurok Tribe and descends from traditional healers from the Yurok villages of Requa, Wehlkwew, Hoppaw, Sregon, Wausec, and the coastal village at Dry Lagoon in Northern California. Ms. Carter is a member of the California Bar and a graduate of UCLA where she earned a Master’s Degree in American Indian Studies. Jessica's master's thesis Keeping Watch: the Poh-lik-la and their Lands studied the victimization of the Yurok People by the loss of their homelands beginning in 1850 to the present. She currently oversees numerous restorative justice programs specifically targeted at addressing substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse/neglect, and missing and murdered indigenous people. Ms. Carter has played an integral part in the development of the Yurok Wellness Court and Joint Jurisdiction Courts in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. As Tribal Court Director, Jessica has witnessed the legacy of her people being disenfranchised from their culture through boarding schools and all forms of historical violence from genocide to mass incarceration. Jessica believes the Yurok people deserve the chance to be well and in balance again. She is determined to be a positive influence and do her part to help this happen. Ms. Carter is married to a U.S. Coast Guard Veteran/Middle School Teacher and has a son who is currently in high school. Jessica attributes her commitment to tribal service to her parents, her father is a U.S. Veteran, who served in Vietnam, and her mother is a tribal planner who has brought essential services to tribal communities.
