Jenna Pollack

Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem at UIC CUED   (May 2023 - Dec 2024)                      

Program Manager, Ecosystem Coordinator, and Researcher (full-time)

• Liaisons with institutional stakeholders, community economic development allies, and City of Chicago staff
• Convenes 100 community members monthly across four working groups for peer learning, policy agenda setting, relationship-building, and resource-sharing
• Co-developed data collection strategies and 5 IRB oral research protocols, and conducted 22 in-depth interviews
• Directed and co-designed 12 personalized, bilingual reporting tools for grantees including dynamic data collection templates and an extensive data dictionary
• Created digital  technical assistance readiness tool; resource library; bilingual informational packets for public officials; and video animations, tutorials, and cooperative features about community wealth building in Chicago 

UIC Research Institutes   (Jan 2022 - May 2023)                                               

Graduate Research Assistant (part-time)                                                          

• Center for Urban Economic Development: Analysis of national Community Wealth Building models and national approaches to municipalism in support of Dr. Stacey Sutton and Professor Renee Hatcher’s work on the advisory committee for the City of Chicago’s Community Wealth Building initiative
• Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement: Communications strategy in collaboration with the Associate Director, production of official Institute literature and community partnership publications, seasonal blog content and newsletters, and all social media content
• Master of City Design, McKinley Park Charrette: Summer Studio logistics management, university compliance, community stakeholder liaison, operational support for Directors, and producer and editor of 25-minute documentary. Winner of the 2022 American Planning Association Illinois chapter (APA-IL) Student Project Award

Arts Alliance Illinois   (June - Oct 2022)                                                                                         

Research Assistant (part-time)

• Data synthesis, marketing materials, and stakeholder communication for Illinois Creative Workforce Activation (ICWA) – a program expanding the career paths open to the state’s creative workers while also addressing needs in Illinois’ key growth industries 

Borderless Studio   (June - Aug 2022)                                                                                          

Community Researcher, Creative Grounds (full time)

• Comprehensive data aggregation and analysis on 105 closed Chicago Public Schools since 2013, 15 FOIA requests, 5 successful FOIA appeals in collaboration with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, research proposals for backcasting and predicting school closures related to gentrification and capital investment, and asset-based research on the role of co-locating (wrap-around services, public-private partnerships, school co-locations) in mitigating closures and deepening a wellness approach to schools as community anchors

Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music   (2020 - 2021)                                                  

Assistant Professor, Dance and Theatre Departments (full-time)

• Contemporary Dance, Improvisation, Ballet Technique

Salem State University, Northern Essex Community College, and Dean College   (2017 - 2021) 

Visiting Lecturer, Dance Departments

• Dance Research, Dance History, World Dance, Composition, Ballet and Modern Techniques
• 2019 Distinguished Teaching Award Nomination from Salem State University

Springboard Danse Montréal                                                                                    

2017 – 2021: Communications and Artist Relations Associate

• Operational strategy, copyediting, marketing, artist liaising, project management
• Fluent in Microsoft Office, Mailchimp, Mail Merge, Canva, and across social media channels
• Curational assistance, artist and participant liaison, and communications associate for 2021 digital symposium with 45+ artists and 100+ participants in 16 panels over three days

2014 – 2017: Executive Assistant

• Assistance in nonprofit incorporation, international integration of operational processes and marketing materials, production of internal reports, and devising and maintaining office systems

2013 – 2014: New York Audition Coordinator 

• Reviewed 850 international applications, live audition coordination at New York City Center, supervision of organizational protocol, communication and scheduling for the Artistic Director 

University of Illinois at Chicago   (2021 - 2023)                                                                                       

Master of Urban Planning and Policy

• Double specialization: Community Development and Economic Development

University of Pennsylvania   (2021)                                                                                               

Executive Certificate, Social Impact Strategy

Liverpool John Moores University/Institute of the Arts Barcelona   (2016 - 2017)                                 

Master of Arts with Distinction, Choreography and Producing 

Harvard Business School Online   (2016)                                                                                          

Certificate with Honors, CORE: Credential of Readiness

The Juilliard School   (2013)                                                                                                            

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dance Performance