Jean was born and raised in Tell City, Indiana. She was the third of seven daughters of Dorothy and Edward Kessner. Her father died when she was 16 years old. Dorothy was the first woman elected to public office in Perry County, Indiana where she served as County Commissioner. Her mother owns and operates the home decorating shop "Kessner Interiors."

Jean went to college at the University of Evansville and finished her degree in Sociology and Political Science at the State University of New York. She has one son, Brennan Kessner, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. He is married to Angela Hart, also a Naval Academy graduate, and they have four children: Parker, Maya, Zoe, and Maro.

Jean moved to New York from the Midwest in 1975. Jean was hired at WIXT NewsChannel 9 in 1979, where she went on to become an award-winning investigative reporter, specializing in stories about the envirionment, nuclear power, nuclear waste, workers' rights, and government accountability. In 2005, Jean became Community and Government Affairs Director for AIDS Community Resources, where she interacts with government officials at local, state, and federal levels.

Jean is involved in Syracuse on many levels: as a public speaker and emcee of special projects and non-profit fundraising activities. She serves as a member of the board of directors of Planned Parenthood Rochester/Syracuse Region, the Interreligious Food Consortium, the Syracuse Alliance for a New Economy, and Peace Action of CNY. She serves on the Onondaga County Democratic Committee. She is a member of Plymouth Congregational Church.