Jessica Walker

As President and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Jessica Walker leads advocacy, policy, and economic development on behalf of the 125,000 businesses that drive New York City's economy. Her work connects the daily realities of Manhattan's merchants to the policy decisions that shape the city's commercial life.

At the Chamber

Since taking the helm, Ms. Walker has positioned the Chamber as a leading voice for the local business community. She has championed initiatives to help small businesses cut through city bureaucracy, modernize their operations, and compete in a fast-changing economy, and she has built the Chamber into a source of original research and accountability on the issues that determine whether neighborhood storefronts thrive or close. Her central skill is translation: turning what merchants experience on the sidewalk into policy the city can act on.

A career in civic and economic infrastructure

Ms. Walker began her career as an advocate for older New Yorkers. As a policy analyst at United Neighborhood Houses, she authored a landmark report on the vulnerabilities of seniors aging alone — research that helped elevate social isolation to a national priority for the AARP Foundation and catalyzed a community-based geriatric mental health initiative in New York City that continues today.

She then joined the New York Academy of Medicine, where she led Age-Friendly NYC, a public-private partnership built on direct input from seniors across all five boroughs. The Bloomberg administration adopted 59 of its proposals, establishing New York as a global model for age-inclusive urban design.

Moving into economic advocacy, Ms. Walker served as Vice President for Government Affairs at the Partnership for New York City, the organization representing the city's major corporate employers. There she helped shape the initiatives that accelerated New York's job recovery after the 2008 financial crisis.

Board service and civic leadership

Ms. Walker serves on the boards of the Javits Center, the city's premier convention venue; United Neighborhood Houses, which delivers human services across New York; and Pursuit Lending, a community development financial institution that invests in local businesses. She is a member of the Women's Forum of New York and an appointed member of Governor Hochul's Regional Economic Development Council for New York City, where she helps shape strategic economic planning for the region.

Recognition and background

Ms. Walker has been named to several of City & State's power lists, including the Manhattan Power 100, Who's Who in MWBEs, Economic Development Trailblazers, and Black Trailblazers, and was featured among Crain's New York Business's Notable Black Leaders in 2022.

Born in Detroit and raised on the Navajo Nation, Ms. Walker is a graduate of Princeton University. She lives in Harlem, where she balances her executive work with a lifelong love of history and philosophy and a well-tended garden.