About me

I am an author, city-maker and advocate for an expanded civic imagination as a foundation for a fair and sustainable future. I have served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney and worked as a festival director, policy advisor, curator, strategist, and presenter. I am a World Bank consultant on sustainable urbanism and a Senior Associate at the Sydney Policy Lab. My first book is Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World.

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

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, creativity and active citizenship. Her book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, illuminates solutions to the climate and inequality crises.

  • Jess Scully is an advocate, policy thinker and author who uses creativity to inspire us all to participate in building a fairer future. She has served as an elected Councillor, Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, policy advisor, festival director and urbanism consultant. 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 an expanded civic imagination to create a fair and sustainable future. She has served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney and as an elected Councillor, and has worked as a policy advisor, cultural strategist, public art curator, editor and radio host.

    Jess was the founding Director of Vivid Ideas, Australia’s largest creative industries festival, and supported emerging talent through the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards. She is a World Bank consultant 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 author, city-maker and advocate for an expanded civic imagination to empower us to create a fair and sustainable future. As Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney from 2019 to 2022 and as a Councillor at the City of Sydney from 2016 to 2023, Jess introduced new models to address the housing crisis and support a more inclusive economy, worked to embed culture in the life of the city and revive Sydney's nightlife, and advocated to expand who plays a role in shaping the life of the city.

    Previously, Jess 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.

    She is currently a World Bank consultant contributing to sustainable urban development in Indonesia and Senior Associate at the Sydney Policy Lab. Her first book, Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, was published by Pantera Press and shortlisted in the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2021.

Headshots

Photography credit: Hugh Stewart

Photography credit: Jacquie Manning

Photography credit: Aby Felman