Jessica B. | Leland

Jessica B.

3x Poets & Quants Top Consultant | Creating an applicant pool of YOU

Studied at Columbia Business School

Works at jessica.mba

Available Friday at 1:00 PM UTC

Protected by the Leland Experience Guarantee

Available Friday at 1:00 PM UTC

Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.

Jessica's Coaching Offerings

Craft Powerful MBA Essays

Craft winning MBA essays through brainstorming, drafting, and editing

Starting at $6605h+ of coaching

Comprehensive MBA Application Package — Land Your Dream Program

Expert help on your MBA essays, recommendations, resume, and more

Starting at $4,00020h+ of coaching

Nail the MBA Interview

Practice realistic mock MBA interviews with a trained expert

Starting at $4053h+ of coaching

Custom hourly

Get help with Editing, Recommendations, and .

Jessica’s MBA Qualifications

Coaches professionally

100+ people coached for MBA

I have coached hundreds of global MBA and EMBA applicants since 2006, earning Poets & Quants recognition as a "Top Consultant" three times. Clients have described our work as “transformative” and “the best help I never knew I needed.” I particularly enjoy supporting clients to find and articulate their unique stories and “why.” My multidisciplinary background, depth of experience, and client-first approach to MBA and EMBA admissions distinguish my services. I am dedicated to working with clients to not only support their optimal admissions results, but also foster essential skills and insights that begin with each consultation and endure long after admission and matriculation. I hold an MBA (Finance & Management) and a BA (English) from Columbia University. My client base has included consultants, investors, doctors, military officers, entrepreneurs, family business leaders, filmmakers, and many more, who have gone on to earn degrees from top global programs in the US and abroad. I speak fluent Italian and am a Yoga Alliance-certified meditation instructor. I divide my time between New York City and the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, USA.

Jessica can help with:

Editing

Recommendations

Interviews

Ding Analysis

Waitlist Strategy

School Selection

Secondary Review

Application Strategy

Essays

Resume

View all of Jessica’s categories

About Jessica

I’m a three-time Poets & Quants Top Consultant and a Columbia MBA, and an ICF-certified leadership coach, working with MBA and EMBA applicants worldwide since 2006. As a former English major and magazine editor, I have a sharp eye and ear for the compelling story every client holds—even if you haven’t found yours yet! My client-focused, empathetic style helps you craft a standout narrative and confidently conquer the competitive admissions process. Services offered in English and Italian. We’ll do great work together if you’re ready to be bold, authentic, and WIN the admissions game.

Why do I coach?

Since business school, I’ve been all in on leadership development—because there’s nothing more powerful than partnering with people to tackle what matters most to them, and celebrating those breakthrough wins. Coaching MBA and EMBA clients was a natural next step, letting me fuel ambitious leaders as they own their stories and shape their futures. To me, coaching is about sparking clarity, igniting confidence, and driving real transformation. I’m passionate about turning uncertainty into unstoppable momentum—and that’s why I show up, every time.

Work Experience

Principal Consultant

jessica.mba

April 2024 - Present

Individualized coaching and consulting for global MBA and EMBA applicants. 18+ years experience in the MBA coaching space. 3x Poets & Quants Top Consultant.

Founder and Principal

Agon Advisors

July 2017 - Present

Jessica Burlingame and Agon Advisors provide 1:1 coaching and talent development services, rooted in techniques from theater and complementary somatic and contemplative practices. We cultivate Vitality | Acuity | Agility | and Humanity with leaders and teams, in real time. Agon Advisors' team-based projects include: • "Deepening Creative Practice" professional development course, guest faculty, The Tavistock Institute for Human Relations (London) • Presentation skills manager training with UKON A/S for Danske Bank (Copenhagen) • “Agon in the Office: Contests and Gatherings in the Theatre of Work,” The Tavistock Institute for Human Relations (London) • “Acting In the Here and Then,” The Tavistock Institute for Human Relations • “Uses of Space, Uses of Self,” International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (Copenhagen)