About me

I am an advocate for policy innovation, new forms of public participation and an expanded civic imagination.

As Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney and as a Councillor at the City of Sydney I proposed meanwhile use models to address gendered violence and the housing crisis; encouraged a more inclusive economy through Community Wealth Building; supported Sydney's cultural ecosystem and nightlife, and advocated to expand who plays a role in shaping the life of the city through deliberative democracy.

I founded and directed Vivid Ideas, Australia’s largest creative industries event; supported emerging talent through the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards; transformed public space as an urbanism consultant and public art curator, served as a policy advisor to the NSW Minister for the Arts and hosted Saturday Afternoons on ABC Radio.

I am currently a World Bank consultant contributing to urban transformation in Indonesia, a Non Executive Director of Parents for Climate, a member of Women for Election’s Political Advisory Board and Senior Associate at the Sydney Policy Lab. My first book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, was shortlisted in the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2021.

Photography credit: Hugh Stewart, 2022

Awards & recognition

2023: Community Recognition Statement, NSW Parliament
2021: Shortlist, Australian Book Industry Awards
2021: Time Out Sydney, Future Shaper: Civics
2015: Australian Design Honours, Australian Design Centre
2013: FBI Radio, Sydney Music Arts and Culture Awards, Person of the Year
2012: Sydney Magazine 100 Most Influential Sydneysiders
2007: Winner, British Council Realise Your Dream

Select media coverage

Time Out's Civics Future Shaper: Jess Scully, Time Out, 2021
$75,000 cut-off? COVID grants exclude great mass of small businesses, Sydney Morning Herald, 2021
Jess Scully is a leader with a vision, Dumbo Feather, 2021
There are new ways to do democracy that give me hope. More voices could change everything, Guardian Australia, 2020
Lunch with… Jess Scully, Sydney Morning Herald, 2020
Sydney deputy lord mayor Jess Scully, The Saturday Paper, 2020
Australia welcomed my mum so I’m mystified by what's happening during COVID, Sydney Morning Herald, 2020
Why there’ll be no morning-after regrets when Sydney eases lockout laws, Sydney Morning Herald, 2019
This International Women's Day, Don’t Get Mad: Get Elected!, Marie Claire, 7 March 2018
Jess Scully's Future of Work to blow the minds of employers and employees, Australian Financial Review, 15 May 2015
At Home With Jess Scully, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 May 2012

Jess Miller and Jess Scully in Marie Claire, March 2018

Jess Scully and daughter Elinor in Marie Claire,
March 2020

On the cover of the Wentworth Courier,
September 2021

Third-person bios

Jess Scully is an advocate for policy innovation, participation and civic imagination. Her book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, illuminates solutions to the climate and inequality crises.
Jess Scully is an advocate for citizen participation and civic imagination. She has served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, on the Board of Parents for Climate, and on Women for Election’s Political Advisory Board. She offers solutions to the climate and inequality crises in book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World.
Jess Scully is an advocate for active participation in building a fairer future. She has served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, arts policy advisor, festival director and urbanism consultant. She is a Non Executive Director of Parents for Climate and a member of the Women for Election Political Advisory Board. Her book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, offers solutions to the climate and inequality crises.
Jess Scully is an advocate for citizen participation and civic imagination. She has served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney and has worked as a policy advisor, cultural strategist, curator, editor and radio host.
Jess was the founding Director of Vivid Ideas, Australia’s largest creative industries festival. She is a consultant to the World Bank, a Non Executive Director of Parents for Climate, a member of Women for Election’s Political Advisory Board, and a Senior Associate at the Sydney Policy Lab. Her book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, illuminates solutions to the climate and inequality crises.
Jess Scully is an advocate for policy innovation, active public participation and civic imagination. As Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney from 2019 to 2022 and as a Councillor at the City of Sydney from 2016 to 2023, Jess proposed meanwhile use models to address gendered violence amid the housing crisis; encouraged a more inclusive economy through Community Wealth Building; supported Sydney's cultural ecosystem and nightlife, and advocated to expand who plays a role in shaping the life of the city through deliberative democracy.
Jess founded and directed Vivid Ideas, Australia’s largest creative industries event, from 2009 to 2017; supported emerging talent through the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards; transformed public space as an urbanism consultant and public art curator, served as a policy advisor to the NSW Minister for the Arts and hosted Saturday Afternoons on ABC Radio.
She is currently a World Bank consultant contributing to urban transformation in Indonesia, a Non Executive Director of Parents for Climate, a member of Women for Election’s Political Advisory Board and Senior Associate at the Sydney Policy Lab. Her first book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, was shortlisted in the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2021.