Jessika Boles, PhD, CCLS, has been a Certified Child Life Specialist for more than 17 years. After several years caring for adolescents and young adults with solid tumor and brain tumor cancers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and earning her doctoral degree, she found a new passion and home in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt. Once an almost medical student and always an educator, Jessika especially enjoys helping children and families learn about and make sense of complex healthcare concepts – whether a new diagnosis, complicated treatment regimen, or those things that are harder to make sense of like transition, loss, or uncertainty. Now primarily working as an Assistant Professor of Practice at Vanderbilt University, Jessika partners with children and families not just clinically, but also conducting research that ensures medical interventions put patient perspectives first at every juncture. She is an active member of several community organizations in the Nashville area, runs a local SibShops program, and is a leader and contributor in several national professional organizations. In her spare time, she authors textbooks for the child life profession, advocates for patient-and-family centered care, and talks about her favorite subject – legacy.

jessika@copingcopilots.com