About Jessica Vaught
With strong interests in education, personal development, and continuous growth, Jessica is passionate about helping others recognize their full potential while reaffirming their value. This passion stems in part from her own struggles with traditional teaching methods and reading comprehension, her children being neurodivergent learners, and the loss of her grandmother, who was her biggest cheerleader.
Jessica is a two-time graduate of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University, where she obtained both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. While earning her graduate degree, she helped deliver three sections of coursework to underperforming students with GPAs of 2.0 or lower as a graduate assistant for the Department of Academic Success. This experience helped lead to the full reinstatement of at-risk students to the university. She also holds an Advanced Leadership Certificate and currently serves as an appointed national committee member for a nonprofit in the education sector.
As a visual-spatial strategist, Jessica thrives when learning through pictures and visual connections rather than words alone. Her personal philosophy combines the heart of an educator with the mind of an MBA. She brings these two perspectives together to serve a common purpose, using her passion for education and transferable business skills to create a positive impact. More than an author, Jessica considers herself an edupreneur who advocates for alternative ways of learning and greater awareness of the connection between mental health, neurodivergence, and academic success.
Jessica is also a devoted wife, proud mother of two, and business founder committed to helping students and families recognize that learning can take many forms.
“The key to unlocking student success: Knowledge is power. Power is strength. Strength is confidence. Confidence is trust—in ourselves and in others.”
Jessica Vaught
In honor of her passion for education through creativity and innovation, Jessica founded Penzie Press, LLC in 2025. PENZIE stands for Proactively Empowering Neurodiverse Zones in Education, reflecting the company’s mission to support young readers through inclusive, engaging, and accessible learning experiences.
Penzie Press places a strong emphasis on high-quality, immersive, and visually appealing illustrations. This approach uses visual scaffolding, allowing illustrations to provide context that can support comprehension and engagement, especially for visual and neurodivergent learners. When the story is read aloud, children can also connect the spoken words with the visual information presented in the illustrations, supporting a dual-coding learning experience.
On July 25, 2025, Penzie Press published its debut children’s book, The Rainbow Pencil. Written by Jessica, it combines her childhood memories with her life today while promoting honesty, empathy, kindness, responsibility, critical thinking, and resilience.
Through Penzie Press, Jessica hopes to create books and educational experiences that help children feel seen, supported, and confident in the way they learn.