Jessica Dassen is Head of Cultural and Corporate Activities at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, where she leads the team working across programming, partnerships, inclusion and audience development. A key focus of her work is making the concert hall more representative of the city around it.

Jessica has worked in the live music and events industry for more than twenty five years, starting out in production and spending much of her career behind the scenes at concerts and festivals. Alongside her work at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, she advises on sustainability in the cultural and events sector and still occasionally returns to the festival floor as part of production teams.

In 2021, she co-founded Stichting Backstage Pass, an initiative aimed at creating a more diverse and inclusive Dutch events industry. Its first project, Podiumtechniek voor Meiden, introduced girls and young women to careers in stage technology. She now serves as a board member of the foundation.

Jessica regularly contributes to conversations about inclusion, representation and change in the music industry, bringing the perspective of someone who knows the sector from both backstage and the boardroom.