Jessica M. Lopez-Hess is a native New Mexican who was born and raised in Northern New Mexico, specifically, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ms. Hess is bilingual with Spanish as her second language. Ms. Hess was the recipient of the Edwin G. Fernandez Scholarship to attend New Mexico Highlands University and did so for the school year 1992-1993. Thereafter, she was awarded a Presidential Scholarship to the University of New Mexico where she received a Bachelor's of Arts in Criminology and Business in 1996. After graduating from the University of New Mexico, Ms. Hess earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in 1999 where she graduated with honors. Ms. Hess then attended the University of New Mexico School of Law where she received her Juris Doctorate in 2002. While attending the University of New Mexico School of Law, Ms. Hess served as an active member of the Mexican American Law School Association (MALSA), Phi Delta Phi and completed over 80 hours of mediation training.

Ms. Hess has served as a mitigation specialist in various highly tumultuous criminal cases and has assisted with the research and writing of a Writ of Habeas Corpus involving the death penalty in New Mexico. Ms. Hess is a member in good standing of the Albuquerque Bar Association, the National Hispanic Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Ms. Hess' main areas of practice are Domestic Relations Law, Children's Law, including Adoption and Kinship Guardianship, and Criminal Law. Ms. Hess' proudest accomplishments are the birth of her two children.