“To me, philanthropy is the highest form of advocacy. You’re not only supporting important community issues, but can inspire others around you, too. I hope to elevate this through the stories I share about our community.” –Jamie McCrary, our new Digital Marketing Manager, on what inspired her to join The Community Foundation.
Jamie started her new role this past month, working with Danielle Yates, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, to implement the organization’s marketing strategy across digital platforms.
Jana-Lynn Louis and Jennifer Olney, two new Program Officers who joined our Community Investment team this past November, echo a similar sentiment. They are excited to join an organization that supports issues they’re passionate about, including underserved youth and homelessness.
Below, learn more about each of our new staff members and what inspires them to come to work every day.
Jana-Lynn Louis, Community Investment Officer
Jana-Lynn is a clinical researcher and public health wonk who is passionate about community engagement, support, and capacity building. She describes community investment as something she “is completely drawn to,” which prompted her transition from HCM Strategists, a local health and education policy consulting firm.
She leads the Fund for Children, Youth, and Families portfolio, a grantmaking strategy that invests in organizations working for the betterment of underserved children, youth, and families in the region. Specific issue areas include housing-based service programs, foster care, and academic programming and career training.
While new to social services, she has experience as a grantmaker and community engagement partner at HCM Strategists, with the National Institutes of Health as her primary client. She has also worked at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and John Hopkin’s Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“I enjoy supporting local nonprofits, which directly impacts the more vulnerable communities in this region,” she says. “Creating that connection between philanthropy and local giving is vital for our success.”
Jamie McCrary, Digital Marketing Manager
Jamie is a marketing manager and a writer who specializes in nonprofits, especially in education and the arts. She’s passionate about helping organizations tell their stories and raising awareness about their work.
She leads The Community Foundation’s digital strategy and storytelling, translating news about grantees, donors, staff, and events into compelling online narratives. This includes managing social media, the monthly email newsletter, website, and digital advertising. Most of all, Jamie is excited about growing The Community Foundation’s online community by engaging people around our issue areas.
Jamie is also a freelance arts writer and musician. As a professionally trained violist, she loves covering classical concerts for the Washington Classical Review, DCist, and Strathmore News. She is a member of the Premiere String quartet, where she performs at events and weddings throughout the DMV area.
For Jamie, it’s all about communication and connection. “That’s why I work in marketing, write and play music. I love building meaningful connections through stories that matter,” she said.
Jennifer Olney, Community Investment Officer
Jennifer Olney was drawn to The Community Foundation for its work around ending homelessness, an area where she has spent most of her career. “It felt like the perfect opportunity to continue the work I’ve done with philanthropy and with communities working to end homelessness across the country,” she said.
Jennifer leads the Partnership to End Homelessness portfolio, which brings together the public and private sectors to advance solutions that ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring in Washington, DC. She works with local government and with the initiative’s partners to advance their work in the community.
Prior to The Community Foundation, she worked at Funders Together to End Homelessness and the National Alliance to End Homelessness, where she led national and issue-based networks and managed development activities, respectively.
She is excited to help advance The Community Foundation’s mission of Building Thriving Communities.
“To me, this embodies the role of The Community Foundation and the reason I was attracted to the organization,” she said. “We get to work with philanthropists to help them understand big issues, like homelessness, and connect them with organizations that are doing amazing work and solutions that have proven results.”