Jessica Bekar, Tennessee State Advisory Board Member

Jessica Bekar is an 11 year veteran of the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security and serves as the Executive Assistant to Colonel Dereck Stewart of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.  She manages a multitude of projects for the THP, including the trooper hiring process, special events, awards, and recognition.  Working alongside the men and women of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and seeing their dedication to impaired driving enforcement inspired Jessica to join the MADD Advisory Board.

 

Jessica is a class of 2000 graduate of Glencliff High School, with honors, graduating third in her class of 280 people.  In 2004, she was awarded a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Biochemistry, with honors, from David Lipscomb University.  Her undergraduate thesis research earned her multiple publications.

 

Before joining the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security in 2007, Jessica performed toxicology testing in a local environmental laboratory, assisted with colon cancer research in a gastroenterology laboratory, and worked for a cardiology practice in Nashville, Tennessee.

She is a recipient of the 2013 Colonel’s Achievement Award and is a graduate of the 2017 Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner’s Leadership Academy.

 

Born in a small town in the Ohio Valley, she has called Nashville home since high school.  She loves 90’s hip-hop, is a closet nerd, a die-hard Pittsburgh Steeler fan, and an advocate for the Oxford Comma.

 

She currently serves on the Tennessee State Advisory Board Fundraising/Special Events Committee.