Jess Diamondstone earned a BA in Women’s Studies with a concentration in Health from U. Mass. Amherst in 1988. She lives in West Dummerston with her husband and children. She has been a home-school educator for 20 years and a massage therapist for the last 7. During these last 20 years she has worked as a council member for a Wilderness Studies and Environmental Education School. She also works as an advocate for home-school families as well as for women in transition. She participates in and helps to organize Transition projects that focus on post-oil solutions and economic resilience for Vermont communities. Before having a family, Jess worked offering both direct care and administration for the Vt. Council on Aging. Prior to that she owned and ran an herbal products company, studied home birth midwifery, and participated in raising awareness around women’s rights to choose where and how they wish to birth their children. She was active in the Take Back the Night efforts, stopping violence against women and participated in political street theater raising awareness around the nuclear arms race.