Jessica Weare

Jessica Karbowski Weare currently serves as Vice President and General Counsel at Grand Valley State University since October 2024. Prior to this role, Jessica held several prominent positions, including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Counsel at the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, and Acting Commissioner of the Michigan Lottery, where responsibilities included oversight of a large organization with thousands of retailers and significant annual sales. Experience also includes serving as Deputy Legal Counsel in the Executive Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Associate General Counsel at Facebook, and Attorney-Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, where responsibilities encompassed data sharing and corruption-related legal issues. Early career highlights consist of clerking for Justice Dana Fabe in the Alaska Supreme Court and summer associate roles at Sidley Austin LLP and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Jessica earned a JD from Yale Law School and a BA in Foreign Service from Alma College.