Jessica Nabongo
Jessica Nabongo is a Detroit-born travel writer, photographer and creator, known as the first Black woman on record to visit every country in the world.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Jessica’s team an official invite.
🔒 Star boosts open once Jessica claims this page.
Latest
Jessica’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
National Geographic
Christie’s LondonOverview
- Roots
- Born and raised in Detroit by Ugandan parents.
- Work
- Travel writer, photographer, author, entrepreneur and public speaker.
- Started sharing
- Launched The Catch Me If You Can blog in 2009.
- Breakout
- Completed visits to all 195 UN-recognized countries on October 6, 2019, finishing in the Seychelles.
- Education
- English literature at St. John’s University, followed by a graduate degree at the London School of Economics.
Mini bio
How it started.
Raised in Detroit by Ugandan parents, Jessica built a life that crossed borders before travel became her full-time story. In a first-person essay, she recalls working for a pharmaceutical company and taking a solo transatlantic trip in 2007. She began The Catch Me If You Can blog in 2009, pairing photographs with stories about the people and places she encountered.
The every-country journey.
During a trip to Bali in 2017, Jessica decided to visit every country in the world. She completed the journey in the Seychelles on October 6, 2019, becoming the first Black woman on record to visit all 195 UN-recognized countries. Her 2022 National Geographic book, The Catch Me If You Can, brings together 100 destinations and many of her own photographs.
What came next.
Jessica has kept finding new ways to tell travel stories. Four of her photographs appeared in the 2023 Note To Self exhibition at Christie’s London. More recently, she has been developing the cookbook Catch Me in the Kitchen, sharing personal dispatches through The Journal, exhibiting The People I Met and bringing readers together over food at her supper clubs.
Creditschronological, newest first
Books
- ForthcomingCatch Me in the Kitchen: One Dish From Every Country in the WorldAuthor
- 2022The Catch Me If You Can: One Woman’s Journey to Every Country in the WorldAuthor and photographer
Art
- 2026The People I MetPhotographer and artist
- 2023Note To Self, Christie’s LondonExhibiting photographer, four works
Speaking and hosting
- 2025Global Citizen NOW: DetroitHost
- 2019The World Is Our NeighborhoodTEDxDetroit speaker
Awards
Quotes
To be a good neighbor you have to let go of the burden of fear.Jessica Nabongo, TEDxDetroit, 2019
Quoted on her official biography page: https://www.jessicanabongo.com/about
Trivia
- She began photography on film in 2005.
- She chose October 6 to complete her every-country journey because it was her late father’s birthday.
- Fifty-five close friends and family members joined her celebration in the Seychelles.
- She has a monthly book club alongside her travel writing.
Find Jessica
Follow Jessica’s travels, photographs and stories, or settle in with The Journal.
Are you Jessica Nabongo?
Fans built this page. Claim it to connect with them and unlock Star boosts, or request a takedown if you’d rather it not exist.