Since I Was Nine, I’ve Always Dreamed of Being Phil Donahue

(Think Dr. Phil or Oprah, back in the day.)

And as Harvey Specter would say, I didn’t have a dream, I had a goal.

So when I was 16, I hosted my first radio show for teens on WDIY FM, which was my local NPR affiliate.

I went on to earn my bachelor and master degrees at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. I reported at WKYT-TV, the CBS affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky and served as the Washington Correspondent for both WCAX-TV, the CBS affiliate in Burlington, Vermont and the Spartanburg Herald Journal based in South Carolina.

Enter: My TV Era

After graduating university, I worked as a news anchor and reporter at different stations across the country and covered everything from breaking news, politics on Capitol Hill and wrongful conviction cases to sports, food and Fashion Week.

One thing you should know about me: I’m the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and produced and hosted a documentary on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. My film, Passing the Torch, debuted in New York City.

The Birth of Jessica Abo TV (JaboTV)

In 2010, I was working at NY1 when a student at Rutgers University became the victim of cyber-bullying. Tyler Clementi’s roommate set up a webcam and captured him kissing another man and shared that content online. At just 18 years old, Tyler ended his life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. I reported on the trial that followed, and every time I sat behind the anchor desk, I felt I had to do something to help teens who are hurting.

So, I started a production company, and the first thing I launched was a YouTube channel called JABOTV to empower kids, teenagers and college students. In my year-long “Open Up Wednesday” series, I asked celebrity guests how they turned an OUW (pronounced: ow!) moment into a POUWER story. I developed an Ambassador Program, which enabled me to mentor teens across the U.S. My channel was featured in Forbes and on "The Meredith Vieira Show" and I was asked to speak about my content at the United Nations. Those videos caught the attention of Entrepreneur magazine, and I’ve been a contributor there ever since.