Jessica Yonker

Bio

Jessica Yonker is an editor for Food Network and its sister brands. She currently produces site content that supports Food Network and HGTV shows and talent and writes a biweekly newsletter for Food Network. She also supports Warner Brothers Discovery’s studio initiatives through creation of custom site content for franchises like Beetlejuice and Barbie. She has more than 14 years of experience as a writer and editor in lifestyle media and is an avid home cook.

Highlights

• 14+ years of lifestyle media experience in the home, garden and food space
• 10+ years experience email newsletter marketing
• 10+ years experience shooting photography and social video
• Master gardening and gardening experience

Experience

Jessica began her multimedia career in 2012 as a programming intern for HGTV while studying journalism at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, being hired on as a full-time editor and relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, shortly after graduation.

Over the years, Jessica has done everything from social media and email marketing to content creation and video production. She has worked with editors, publishers and freelancers to produce hundreds of articles and photo galleries and has more than 10 years of experience writing email newsletters for HGTV and Food Network. She is a photographer whose work is frequently featured on HGTV.com, has covered events like Dragon Con and Bonnaroo and her photography has been featured in The New York Times. She has also conceptualized, shot and hosted videos for HGTV’s YouTube channels.

Jessica is passionate about finding ways to uplift marginalized voices through her work, producing content featuring diverse designers, artists and chefs and has been a guest speaker for Diversify Social Media, a program that offers free training, information sessions and network opportunities BIPOC interested in social media.

Jessica comes from a long line of professional and home cooks who inspired her love of cooking. Her grandfather was a cook in the Air Force and owned a burger shop in Ohio, her grandmother fed anyone who showed up to her house, and Jessica has fond childhood memories cooking and baking with her parents and siblings. She started “getting serious” about learning how to cook her senior year of college, where she would watch episodes of Barefoot Contessa after class and produce recipe content for her school’s online newspaper. You can usually find Jessica perusing the menu at restaurants in her neighborhood and on vacation, spoon-feeding her friends and family her latest creation or buried under her collection of cookbooks, watching cooking videos on YouTube.

Education

Jessica graduated magna cum laude from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a B.S. in Journalism and Electronic Media and a minor in Information Science in 2012. She serves on the College of Communication and Information’s Alumni Board and was named Alumni of the Year by the college in 2024. Jessica is also a certified Master Gardener through the University of Tennessee.

READ MORE OF JESSICA'S WORK ON HGTV