Jessica Nicole Darden née Trisko is a Canadian academic, activist, former model and beauty queen. She is Assistant Professor of International Affairs at School of International Service at American University and a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. After winning the Miss Earth Canada pageant, Trisko represented Canada at Miss Earth 2007 and became the first Canadian to win the Miss Earth title. She had previously placed in the top ten at Miss Universe Canada 2007. She was a guest judge in the final Miss Earth United States 2016 pageant. She studies the impact of foreign aid on repression and civil war. She has written and published journals on social science, humanities, and international security which were used in various international conferences.
Trisko returned to Montreal to begin a Ph.D. in Political Science at McGill in 2006. Trisko obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science from McGill University in 2012 was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario. Her research has been funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the McGill-Universite de Montreal Centre for International Peace and Security Studies. Trisko has published in edited volumes and the journals Central Asian Survey and the McGill Foreign Affairs Review. She has presented at numerous academic conferences including the International Studies Association 2009 and 2008 conferences, the ISSS/ISAC 2009 conference, the Association for the Study of Nationalities 2007 conference, various McGill-Universite de Montreal Research Group in International Security conferences, and the CDAI-CDFAI 2006 conference.
Community involvement
Trisko has been participating in charitable fashion shows since the age of 15. In 2001, she teamed up with Ford Models and L'Oréal to participate in the behind-the-scenes reality television series Supermodels, which featured eight half-hour episodes. In 2008, Trisko guest starred on the Filipino television shows "The Singing Bee" and "Sports Unlimited". Trisko has hosted numerous environmental events in Asia and North America. She now serves as a mentor to young women interested in pursuing careers in the fashion industry through the organization "Teens Reacting Effectively aNd Discovering Style " - a national fashion and image project by teens, for teens. In March 2013, Jessica hosted the inaugural Jack Layton Winter Ball, a fundraiser for cancer research that benefited the Goodman Cancer Research Centre in Montreal. Members of the late Mr. Layton's family were in attendance, including Mike Layton and Olivia Chow, as well as the current Leader of the Opposition Mr. Thomas Mulcair.
Environmental activism
Trisko, together with the executives of Carousel Productions and the national organizers of Miss Earth Indonesia, attended the Cool Energy Exhibition on December 10, 2007 with the theme: "Care for the Change". More than 20 companies, non-government organizations and other groups participated in this exposition held in the Peninsula Island inside the Nusa Dua resort showcasing displays about wildlife conservation, energy, and forest preservation.
