Jessica Mahone is Head of Research in the Dewitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy. She was also an associate in research at the center from 2019 to 2020.

Jessica brings more than a decade of experience leading research operations across academia, philanthropy, and nonprofits. Most recently, she has been working as an independent consultant on research, evaluation, and operations projects supporting local news organizations and was previously research director at the Center for Innovation & Sustainability in Local Media at UNC from 2021 – 2025. She holds a PhD in mass communication from the University of Florida, MA degrees in sociology and communication from East Tennessee State University, and a BA in religion from King University.