Biography
JESSE LINDER, in his 22nd year with the New York Jets, serves as the team's vice president, community relations, after joining the Jets in 2003 as a community relations assistant. Linder oversees all the club's community relations and charity outreach initiatives. He is responsible for the New York Jets Foundation, Youth Football outreach to underserved areas, implementation of the Inspire Change platform, support for the Lupus Research Alliance and the execution of NFL Community platforms.
Among the organization's Youth Football initiatives, was the creation of the first Girl's Flag Football Leagues in New Jersey, Long Island and the Hudson Valley with over 120 teams competing in 2024. The Jets achieved their goal to have the sport adopted as an official high school championship sport in New York and are now focused on New Jersey which is in the middle of a 2-year pilot.
In December of 2020, Linder and the community relations department worked with the Jets Social Justice, Diversity and Inclusion Team (SJDIT) to identify and partner with four social justice organizations - All Stars Project, Innocence Project, New York Urban League and Year Up – all of which share the goal of reducing barriers and creating opportunities for underserved communities. To date, the Jets have donated over $1.2 million our partners to further their missions.
Linder previously served as a physical education teacher in the New Paltz Central School District, where he coached baseball, basketball, and golf. He began his NFL career as an intern in the Miami Dolphins community relations department in 2002.
A native of New Paltz, NY, Linder graduated from the University of Delaware in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education, with a minor in coaching science. He later earned his master's degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2002. Linder enjoys playing golf in his spare time and owns a single-digit handicap. He and his wife, Jillian, dog, Ruby, and cats, Shea and Orosco, reside in New Jersey.