She has worked in various capacities on documentaries, including writing, story development, and archival research. She has also written, directed, and edited numerous on-air promotions for television networks, including AMC, Sundance Channel, and BBC America. Her work on Sundance Channel's Dysfunctional Family Thanksgiving earned a 2010 Promax BDA Award in the "Something for Nothing" category. Jillian grew up in Santa Cruz, CA and graduated from Brown University, where she studied dramatic writing and linguistic anthropology.