About
Before turning to writing fiction, Jackie has written for publications and her work has appeared in: AOL-Patch, Daily Voice, Mainstreet USA, Linux Today, The Norwalk Beat, Norwalk Magazine, Business New Haven, MacWeek, CT Local Politics, and The Hour.
Jackie is a former serial entrepreneur who founded several high-tech startups after a career working in the tech startup industry during its early days. In her career she has supported a diverse range of SAAS companies focused on public broadband, transportation infrastructure, health & safety, commercial building operations, and legal firms.
Prior to founding her consulting firm US Daily Digital, Jackie led The Stamford Partnership and Norwalk 2.0, two community-based economic development organizations. She introduced civic tech, arts, and cultural policy and programs as part of revitalization and development efforts that resulted in high-visibility projects that catalyzed economic development in underserved areas.
During her time as a nonprofit executive, she served as chairperson of the State of Connecticut’s Autonomous Vehicle Task Force and successfully introduced policy guidelines for inclusion in several legislative bills. She is a passionate advocate for small businesses and has created municipal and regional projects that provided grants and access to capital to artists, and entrepreneurs in Connecticut. She also served as a member of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce, Stamford Special Services District, Mill River Park board of directors. She was previously Chairperson of the Norwalk Zoning Commission, Norwalk Arts Commission, and served on many planning task force initiatives.
Jackie previously worked at several startups including MECA Software, a fintech company that pioneered personal finance and tax accounting platforms; Microtech International, a hard drive and memory manufacturer; Inline Software, a publisher of games and utilities for the Macintosh platform; Blowtorch Studios, an award-winning interactive design agency; SunStar, a digital game developer.
She served for 5 years on the State of Connecticut’s Western Council Of Government’s Community Economic District Strategy steering committee, where she successfully introduced policy guidelines that addressed broadband infrastructure, the digital divide, sustainable dredging, and autonomous vehicle infrastructure.
“I write about the stuff I like to read about.”
Jackie Lightfield