Jen Appel of New York

About Jen Appel

Jen Appel was born sensitive, perhaps with a poet’s heart, with a natural inclination towards what was gentle, sweet, and even ephemeral. Born in Old Brookville, New York, she was raised next to horses, among dogs, cats, pheasants, and tons of other wildlife. On the North Shore of Long Island, with long green expanses, dotted by flowers and carefully curated trees, with blue skies and silent winds that highlighted each cricket and bird’s chirp, she came to cherish what D. H. Lawrence called “the spirit of a place.” She was always one to respect the slower life of serenity.

She was also raised on the works of Martin Buber, Abraham Heschel, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, philosophy passed down from a father who was himself a self-educated philosopher and businessman. That upbringing gave her an eagle’s view of life: the ability to see the end from the beginning. And this, in combination with moments of great loss in her young life that would continue throughout her adulthood, gave Jen an even deeper instinct for cherishing what’s in front of her: each moment, each person, every colleague, friend, pet, and passing flower.

Her career has carried that same spirit far and wide: as an artist, educator, filmmaker, and founder, her work has run through all five boroughs of New York City, across Long Island, and into Washington, D.C., and today reaches even further, across the globe, as she supports international families and businesses. Her art has sung amidst every one of those hard-won backdrops, and she has appreciated every colorful stroke of the adventure, yet she still craves a life that honors nature. While planting her roots in rich soil, she also works tirelessly to give people their voice, and the confidence to use it. Jen’s work is often woven through the themes of agency, self-responsibility, civic contribution, service, and honoring all the little things that life gives us for free, because she believes we each get one beautiful shot at this, and she hopes each person she meets finds a little magic in her offerings to help make the most of theirs.

For more than 30 years, Jen has built a career in film, education, leadership, and service. Jen has worked across theater, film, fine art, and music while also teaching advanced humanities subjects, including A.P. U.S. History, U.S. Government, European History, Business & Entrepreneurship, English Language Arts, Public Speaking, Speech Writing, Fine Art, and Theater. Jen is also the founder of Somewhere I Read, a national initiative dedicated to renewing America’s civic imagination, and the creator of 16 Paws, a pet lifestyle brand and children’s book centered on kindness and animal-assisted service. Whatever she is up to, you can find her trying to, most sincerely, make the world a better place for all of us to be in – and helping us enjoy becoming our best selves every step of the way.

“Jen Appel, a woman of the sort Lincoln must have had in mind when he referenced ‘the better Angels of our nature.’” – Ty Cobb, Esq.

Educator First: A Lifelong Vocation

Teaching has always come first for Jen Appel. Long before founding companies or producing films, she was a teacher, and more than 30 years later, she still is. ‘Teaching has been the greatest joy of my life,’ Jen says. ‘Whatever else I build, I will always be a teacher first.’

Jen has a Master’s degree in Education, graduating as a Merit Fellow and Magna Cum Laude. She holds New York State certifications in Secondary Education and English Language Arts, is certified in the Hochman Writing Revolution, and completed advanced studies in differentiation and diversity through Harvard University. She has also participated in programs with the Gilder Lehrman Institute, studying under Professor David Blight of Yale University.

She has taught across public, private, and independent schools, including Collegiate, City and Country, Stevenson, Friends Academy, Marymount, Trevor Day School, Buckley Country Day School, Dwight Global, and Fairfax County Public Schools. Her teaching has included A.P. U.S. History, U.S. Government and Politics, English, Honors English, Creative Writing, Business and Entrepreneurship, Fine Art, Performing Art, Speech, and Theater. She has served as a diversity curriculum coordinator, theater director, learning specialist, and private educator.

Appel has taught students throughout the region, including across Long Island, the Bronx, and all five boroughs of New York City, as well as in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Since 2020, she has collaborated with Dwight Global Online School, and is thrilled to be working with the leading #1 online school serving students around the world with a truly exceptional team of international professionals.

Jen also continues to teach through her own platforms: Legacy Leadership Academy, her online school for purpose-driven leadership and communication, and tutorandlearningspecialist.com, offering academic support, tutoring, and world schooling for students of all ages.

Somewhere I Read: Media for a Movement

Somewhere I Read is Jen Appel’s most ambitious civic project: an independent media and technology initiative dedicated to restoring truth, elevating culture, and renewing civic life through art, storytelling, technology, and service. It takes its name from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech, in which he called America back to its own promises with the refrain, ‘Somewhere I read…’ That call remains unfinished, and Jen carries it forward through film, music, history, and technology. Jen created Somewhere I Read to move the national conversation away from partisan politics and back to something more fundamental: the founding principles this country was built on. After all, the men who fought for America’s independence were not fighting for political parties or platforms. In his Farewell Address, George Washington himself warned against the dangers of factionalism. They were fighting for “We the People.”

Appel serves as Founder and CEO of the initiative, whose flagship project is the feature film America: The Unfinished Revolution, paired with a televised concert where musicians from the film celebrate the people’s voice. Somewhere I Read also includes a podcast featuring thought leaders, historians, and artists, a non-profit arm supporting active citizenship, veteran leadership, and education, and a technology initiative building tools that empower citizens rather than surveil them. Learn more at somewhereiread.com.

16 Paws and the Ethics of Care

Jen Appel of New York is the founder and CEO of 16 Paws, a luxury pet lifestyle company built on a simple belief: our pets are family. In most states today, the law agrees: pets are increasingly recognized as family members, not property, and 16 Paws was created to help households live that truth every day. Inspired by her own four dogs, Honeybear, Valentine, Bentley, and Cosette, and her children’s book 16 Paws & A Special Kind of Grace, Jen built the company to celebrate the animals who share our homes, our offices, and our lives.

16 Paws is based on Long Island’s North Shore and draws its inspiration from the Long Island Sound, Planting Fields, and the everyday rhythms of life with pets. At its core, it’s a lifestyle brand, not an accessories catalog: pet products shouldn’t be an afterthought tucked in a corner of the house, but integrated into the home and workplace with the same intention as everything else in it.

Jen took her creativity even further with 16 Paws Club, a sister brand and spin-off of the pet company that builds an entire whimsical world of children’s books and enrichment learning activities, inviting students and families into that special world to share in the magic. The Club offers curated subscription boxes that support independent artisans and small vendors, and the children’s book 16 Paws & A Special Kind of Grace, told entirely from the dogs’ perspectives, carries that same spirit of service and quiet courage into a story for families to share. You can explore all of it, including the children’s book, school programs, and the club membership, at sixteenpawsclub.com.

More than commerce, 16 Paws is anchored in service. Appel conducts monthly animal-assisted service visits with her dog Cosette at The Life Enrichment Center in Oyster Bay, serving seniors and teens. She has also assisted with equine therapy programs supporting veterans with PTSD, survivors of domestic abuse, and inner-city children encountering horses and barn animals for the first time. She hopes to one day own horses and have a care farm of her own.

Read more about these visits on Jen’s 16 Paws blog, including Cosi with the Seniors, on bringing Cosette to visit seniors at the Life Enrichment Center, and Jen & Animals, on her equine therapy work with veterans, first responders, and at-risk youth. More stories are on her blog at 16-paws.com/news.

Early Life and Artistic Formation

Jen Appel’s relationship with art began early. By high school, she discovered theater, an encounter that proved decisive. That discovery led her to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she was awarded a full acting scholarship. While at Tisch, she trained in the Experimental Theatre Wing and at Circle in the Square.

During and after her formal education, Appel worked across acting, directing, music, writing, and fine art. She performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, worked in film, and served as lead singer for multiple alternative rock bands and several music and film projects. Her fine art has been exhibited in galleries in both the Hamptons and New York City.

Risk Productions and Early Creative Leadership

In 1997, Jen Appel founded Risk Productions, a film, television, theater, and music company dedicated to projects that directly address social and cultural issues. Through Risk Productions, Appel wrote, directed, and produced Yes! Damn It, which played to sold-out audiences at The Producer’s Club in New York City.

She went on to co-produce multiple films and television projects, including the live-action segment of Blue’s Clues for Nickelodeon, one of the most influential children’s programs of its generation. Appel later expanded her production work through Prinxessa Productions, broadening into music publishing and multimedia storytelling.