Jessica C. Lee, a recent University of California, Irvine, graduate, has joined the Business Journal as a reporter.
She’ll cover education, small business, economic development and professions. Lee also will serve as a point person for the Business Journal, attending various events as she looks for stories.
Prior to joining the Business Journal, Lee was an associate editor at Irvine-based WallSt.net, a Web site offering executive interviews and news for investors.
There, she profiled publicly traded companies such as Hilton Hotels Corp., CKE Restaurants Inc., Weyerhaeuser Co. and Celadon Group Inc.
Lee covered Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International Inc.’s 2005 lawsuits and a Securities and Exchange Commission probe over the company’s billing of its stun guns as non-lethal.
She also profiled Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.’s efforts to sell guns to police and militaries around the world, the development of Station Casinos Inc.’s Red Rock Casino Resort and Tupperware Brands Corp.’s transformation into a global seller of various brands, including cosmetics.
Lee also hosted Eye on Asia, a weekly podcast that covered the latest headlines and trends in Asia. Noteworthy episodes included an exclusive interview with Boeing Co.’s director of international corporate communications, Mark Hooper. Lee and Hooper talked about Asia’s growing aerospace and defense markets and the company’s expansion into India, China and Russia.
Since graduating from UC Irvine in 2006 with a degree in literary journalism, Lee’s work has been published in the Los Angeles Times, the Irvine World News and Thirteen Minutes Magazine, a publication geared toward Asian-Americans.
For the Los Angeles Times’ Neighborly Advice column, Lee profiled Coto de Caza, Ladera Ranch and Laguna Beach’s Arch Beach Heights.
Born in Cincinnati, Lee grew up in Fullerton, where she developed an obsession for family-owned diners and ethnic grocery stores.
A self-proclaimed “foodie,” she enjoys cooking, cheeses, the Food Network’s “Barefoot Contessa,” “Emeril Live” and “$40 a Day,” as well as searching for the ultimate “greasy spoon.”
She also takes pleasure in spending time with family, spoiling her beloved Yorkshire terrier Muki, reading creative non-fiction and watching independent films.
Lee lives in Corona after moving from Fullerton to the rapidly growing city in the spring.
