Humboldt Helper is owned and founded by Jessie Holtz, a Humboldt County local of 12+ years based in McKinleyville. Jessie has a deep love for her community and a long-standing desire to support people in practical, meaningful ways. Helping others, whether through hands-on work, thoughtful coordination, or simply showing up, has always been what she loves to do.
Over the years, Jessie found herself regularly helping friends, neighbors, and community members with pet care, gardening, organizing, moving help, errands, property check-ins, and day-to-day coordination. What began as informal support grew into something more intentional, leading to the creation of Humboldt Helper as a way to offer that same care in a reliable, thoughtful, and neighbor-centered way.
Jessie holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management & Protection from Cal Poly Humboldt and brings a diverse background as a project coordinator, handyma’am, community/event organizer, vegetable farmer and gardener, landscaper, pet sitter, dog walker, world traveler, and Spanish speaker. This mix of hands-on experience and coordination work allows her to approach each client’s needs with flexibility, care, and a practical, problem-solving mindset.
Previous to starting Humboldt Helper, Jessie has largely worked for environmental non-profits across California. In most recent years, she served as the Gardens and Food Resources Coordinator at Open Door Community Health Centers, where she managed and maintained three community food gardens and food pantries across Humboldt County, and was a part owner of Full Cycle Compost, a worker-owned compost cooperative. Before making Humboldt Helper her full-time focus, she worked as a Project Coordinator for Ag Innovations, a statewide nonprofit facilitating collaboration around environmental and agricultural challenges, including being the California Water Action Collaborative network manager and coordinating multi-day Learning Journeys for more than 50 members.
At its heart, Humboldt Helper reflects Jessie’s values: trust, clear communication, follow-through, and genuine care for people, animals, homes, and the community. It’s about showing up, doing quality work, and being someone others can count on when they need an extra hand.