Jess DeFranco is a Bay Area native and began her dance training at a young age with ballet classes in her hometown of Santa Clara, under former San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer Kimberly Davey. She also trained with Western Ballet, Pacific Ballet Academy and the LINES Ballet Summer Program. Jess received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from San Francisco State University, performing with the University Dance Theater company for three consecutive years. Her choreography was also selected to represent the School of Theater and Dance at the 2018 American College Dance Association conference. Upon graduating she began working as a freelance artist and dance instructor in San Francisco. She’s performed in works by Tim Rubel’s Human Shakes, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Robert Moses Kin, Kristin Damrow, Alyssa Mitchel, Tanya Chianese, Katie Faulkner, Flight Dance Collective, and eMotion Arts Dance Co.

Jess has been an SFYBA faculty member since 2019. In 2022 she accepted the position as head of the young children's program for SFYBA.