Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Person

Jessica McKellar

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Founder and CTO of Pilot.com
Political Party:

Democratic Party
Residence:

San Francisco

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Jessica McKellar is a San Francisco-based technology executive who is the founder and chief technology officer of Pilot.com. 1 In 2022, McKellar donated $100,000 to oppose the recall of controversial San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin (D), 2 making her one of the largest individual donors in the race. 3 4 During the campaign, McKellar said that people who blamed Boudin for crime were “not sincerely interested in reducing crime and instead have some other political agenda.” 5

McKellar supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement and the critical race theory-influenced concepts of racial and gender equity. 6 7

McKellar called the U.S. criminal justice system a “dubious, racist form of justice” that is “full of trauma” and ineffective. 8 In 2020, McKellar called for the “release of 50 percent of the California prison population”9 without exclusions for prisoners serving time for committing violent crimes. 10 11 She has also questioned the use of criminal background checks for employment, including for individuals who have committed violent crimes. 12 13

Career

Jessica McKellar is a San Francisco-based technology executive who is the founder and chief technology officer of Pilot.com. 14 15 In 2017, McKellar was selected as a Forbes 30 Under 30 for technology enterprise. 16 Previously she has worked as an engineering manager at Oracle, director of engineering at Dropbox, and vice president of engineering and software engineer at other organizations. 17 She is also a member of the advisory board for the Life of the Law podcast. 18

McKellar supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement and supports the critical race theory-influenced concept of racial equity. 19 She also supports the critical race theory-influenced concept of gender equity in the sciences. 20 McKellar is a supporter of the left-of-center American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and sees the ACLU as a “natural ally” in helping her promote the critical race theory-inspired concepts of equity and justice. She increased her support for the ACLU after the election of President Donald Trump in 2016. 21

McKellar has said that the U.S. criminal justice system is a “dubious, racist form of justice” that is “full of trauma” and ineffective. 22 She has also said that she believes Americans have an “obligation to confront and dismantle” the U.S. criminal justice system. 23

In 2020, McKellar supported the “release of 50 percent of the California prison population” due to outbreaks of COVID-19 in California prisons. 24 On Twitter, she urged her followers to tell Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to reduce the prison population by 50 percent without exclusions for prisoners serving time for committing violent crimes. 25 26

McKellar has also questioned the use of criminal background checks for employment 27 and has said that employers should “hire people with criminal records, especially people with felony convictions, including for violent crimes.” 28

Political Contributions

In 2022, Jessica McKellar donated $100,000 to oppose the recall of controversial San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin (D), 29 making her one of the largest individual donors in the race. 30 31 During the campaign, McKellar said that people who blamed Boudin for crime were “not sincerely interested in reducing crime and instead have some other political agenda.” 32

Jessica McKellar has also made several donations to Democratic Party candidates and Democratic-affiliated campaign committees since 2016. She has supported the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton (D), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Democratic Party-aligned political action committee Swing Left, left-of-center It Starts Today, and the unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of Foster Campbell (D-LA). 33

Personal Information

Jessica McKellar is a native of Fremont, California. 34 She received an S.B. in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2009 and a M.S. in computer science from MIT in 2010. 35 McKellar resides in San Francisco. 36

References

  1. “Jessica McKellar.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesstess/.
  2. White, Marcus. “Majority of pro-Boudin recall spending comes from this group, filings show.” KCBS Radio. June 7, 2022. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.audacy.com/kcbsradio/news/local/boudin-recall-spending-breakdown-one-committee-outpaced-all.
  3. Neilson, Susie. “Chesa Boudin recall supporters raised more than twice as much as anti-recall groups. See who the biggest donors were.” San Francisco Chronicle. June 6, 2020. Accessed via web Archive July 14, 2022. https://archive.ph/RBppk.
  4. Voter information Pamphlet and Sample Ballot.” City and County of San Francisco. June 7, 2022. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://sfpl.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/J22_SFVIP_EN.pdf.
  5. Schleifer, Theodore. “Tech’s Looming Radical Chic Throwdown.” Puck. December14, 2021. Accessed via Web Archive July 14, 2022. https://archive.ph/07W8Q.
  6. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 10, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1270919116107333635?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  7. “The Long Fight for Voting Rights.” ACLU News. Spring 2018. Volume LXXXII Issue 2. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/aclu_news_spring_2018.pdf.
  8. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted May 12, 2019. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1127640196256677890.
  9. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted July 12, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1282354915579289600?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  10. “Tweet. Twitter. Posted July 12, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1282354926564151296?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  11. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted July 2, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022.  https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1278722405851152393?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  12. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted April 12, 2019. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1127640220302602240?s=21&t=NgbGAD64Gf8b7D_9RXqzcg.
  13. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted May 12, 2019. Accessed July 17, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1127640220302602240?s=21&t=NgbGAD64Gf8b7D_9RXqzcg.
  14. White, Marcus. “Majority of pro-Boudin recall spending comes from this group, filings show.” KCBS Radio. June 7, 2022. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.audacy.com/kcbsradio/news/local/boudin-recall-spending-breakdown-one-committee-outpaced-all.
  15. “Jessica McKellar.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesstess/.
  16. Jessica McKellar.” Forbes. 2017. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jessica-mckellar/?sh=212051dcd1cc.
  17.  [1] “Jessica McKellar.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesstess/.
  18. Anzilotti, Eillie. “This tech worker’s transition from a life sentence to a career is a lesson for the whole industry.” Fast Company. August 30, 2019. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90396143/this-tech-workers-transition-from-a-life-sentence-to-a-career-is-a-lesson-for-the-whole-industry.
  19. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted June 10, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1270919116107333635?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  20. “The Long Fight for Voting Rights.” ACLU News. Spring 2018. Volume LXXXII Issue 2. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/aclu_news_spring_2018.pdf.
  21. “The Long Fight for Voting Rights.” ACLU News. Spring 2018. Volume LXXXII Issue 2. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/aclu_news_spring_2018.pdf.
  22. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted May 12, 2019. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1127640196256677890.
  23. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted May 12, 2019. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1127640197221404673.
  24. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted July 12, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1282354915579289600?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  25. “Tweet. Twitter. Posted July 12, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1282354926564151296?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  26. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted July 2, 2020. Accessed July 14, 2022.  https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1278722405851152393?s=21&t=9sbYFgOi3_4bF7uBBd7LWQ.
  27. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted August 11, 2019. Accessed July 17, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1160644405939695616?s=21&t=NgbGAD64Gf8b7D_9RXqzcg.
  28. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted May 12, 2019. Accessed July 17, 2022. https://twitter.com/jessicamckellar/status/1127640220302602240?s=21&t=NgbGAD64Gf8b7D_9RXqzcg.
  29. White, Marcus. “Majority of pro-Boudin recall spending comes from this group, filings show.” KCBS Radio. June 7, 2022. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.audacy.com/kcbsradio/news/local/boudin-recall-spending-breakdown-one-committee-outpaced-all.
  30. Neilson, Susie. “Chesa Boudin recall supporters raised more than twice as much as anti-recall groups. See who the biggest donors were.” San Francisco Chronicle. June 6, 2020. Accessed via web Archive July 14, 2022. https://archive.ph/RBppk.
  31. Voter information Pamphlet and Sample Ballot.” City and County of San Francisco. June 7, 2022. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://sfpl.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/J22_SFVIP_EN.pdf.
  32. Schleifer, Theodore. “Tech’s Looming Radical Chic Throwdown.” Puck. December14, 2021. Accessed via Web Archive July 14, 2022. https://archive.ph/07W8Q.
  33. “Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission Search Results. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=jessica%20mckellar.
  34. “Jessica McKellar.” Forbes. 2017. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jessica-mckellar/?sh=212051dcd1cc.
  35. “Jessica McKellar.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesstess/.
  36. “Jessica McKellar.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed July 14, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesstess/.
  See an error? Let us know!