Jessica Gray enters her third season with the Lions in 2023 as Co-Director of Player Engagement. In her role, Gray provides holistic support to players in developing life skills, pursuing off-the field endeavors and engaging in external programming in addition to overseeing all programming initiatives.
She came to Detroit after spending the past nine years working within Division I collegiate athletics, most recently serving in a student-athlete development capacity at Texas Tech University. In 2020, she was named Assistant Athletics Director of its J.T. & Margaret Talkington Leadership Academy in 2020 after just one year as Assistant Director of Community & Character Development.
During her time in Lubbock, Gray led programming for the Academy's four pillars of career, character, leadership and wellness. In this role, she was responsible for assisting Red Raider student-athletes from all 17 varsity sports with holistic and professional development, empowerment, life transitions and more.
Prior to Texas Tech, Gray spent time as a Student-Athlete Development Associate for George Washington University in Washington, D.C after serving five years at her alma mater, Temple University. At Temple, she held several positions supporting the student-athlete population including Compliance and Student-Athlete Affairs Coordinator (2014-17) and Compliance and Student Athlete Affairs Assistant (2013-14) for Temple Athletics as well as Graduate Assistant Manager for the Temple Men's Basketball program (2012-14).
Gray graduated from Temple in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and minor in theater while working as a student manager for Temple Men's Basketball. In 2014, she completed her master's degree in sport business, also at Temple.
Over the last several years, Gray has continuously furthered her education through The Wharton School's Athlete Development Professional Certification Program as well as the NCAA's Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute. She also earned a Sports Philanthropy Executive Certificate from the George Washington University School of Business in 2022.
Additionally, Gray was selected to represent the Lions at the 2022 Stanford-NFL "League of Leaders" executive education program. In 2018, she was the recipient of the Commitment Award for Women Leaders in College Sports. She recently served as a Heads of Player Engagement representative on the 2023 NFL Player Engagement Rookie Welcome Webinar.
Gray is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a proud Philadelphia, Pa. native.
