Jeff Danna
Director of Communications
"Often the most significant progress made in society is local. There's real power in neighbors working together despite their differences to improve lives."
While working as a journalist in Chicago, Jeff was inspired by the stories of the people in the communities he covered.
“I wrote about everything from a local Elvis impersonator to the uncertain future of a town’s mobile home community,” he says. “What was amazing about these seemingly disparate stories was that I was able to fully see the beautiful mosaic of American life that they formed together.”
Jeff brings his passion for storytelling and communities to the Community Foundation today. He oversees our communications and marketing team, helping shape our messaging, set a strategic marketing and communications agenda, and — his favorite part — find creative ways to tell the stories of the people whose lives are impacted by our work.
Prior to joining the Community Foundation, Jeff worked in strategic communications roles for Erikson Institute and Northwestern Medicine, both in Chicago, and as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times Newsgroup. He holds a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from Columbia College Chicago.
Jeff and his wife, Amy, met as reporters in Chicago and moved here in 2018 to be close to family. They became the proud parents of their daughter, Fang Fang, in 2016.
When Jeff’s not working, you might find him in the community digging for vintage soul and R&B records or spinning them on his turntable. He’s also passionate about urban planning and issues that shape how people interact with their communities, such as housing, street design and walkability.
Fun Fact
Q. What’s the oddest job you’ve had?
A. When I was a sales associate at The Gap, I was routinely assigned to maintaining the "jeans wall" from after school until closing. No one could fold jeans like me!
