As Chief Marketing & Digital Experience Officer (CMXO), Jennifer Polk leads Feeding America’s public engagement strategies, including its brand strategy, strategic marketing planning and execution, and audience activation, with a focus on raising awareness of the issue of hunger, ensuring an inclusive perspective, engaging targeted audiences and achieving fundraising objectives. She leads a team responsible for advancing the Feeding America brand along with its content marketing strategy to reach key stakeholders and audiences, including neighbors, advocates, donors and supporters of our work.
Jennifer has extensive experience and expertise in defining and executing digital strategies that transform the way business and consumer brands engage their customers. She is passionate about using data-driven insight and collaboration to shape and deliver experiences that align the objectives of the company and its stakeholders to differentiate the organization and achieve its goals. Prior to joining Feeding America, Jennifer held multiple leadership roles at Gartner, Inc., including Managing Vice President of its Technology and Service Provider Group, Chief of Research and Vice President of its Marketing and Communications Group. Prior to joining Gartner, she served as Vice President of Digital Marketing and Client Services for Edelman Digital where she led strategy and execution for key client relationships. Previously, she led internal marketing teams at Sears Holdings Corporation.
Jennifer cares deeply about causes that benefit underserved communities, specifically ones that involve women’s rights, hunger, social injustice and economic and racial disparity. She has volunteered with Chicago Innovation Women’s Mentoring Co-Op, Feed My Starving Children, Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry and the Calvary Church Food and Clothing Pantry. Jennifer previously served on the Board of Directors of the Tyler Volenec Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to families of children undergoing cancer treatment at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She also served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer of the Quad County African American Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit committed to the growth of minority-owned businesses.
Jennifer is a lifelong resident of Chicago. She holds a BS in Finance from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She currently resides in the Western Suburbs of Chicago with her family.
