As Discovery Works Collaborative’s president and CEO, Jennifer Volk draws on her extensive expertise to support public-sector organizations in planning and implementing strategic communications that are crucial to meeting their goals. 

Her work includes developing and managing dozens of community engagement programs across the nation that involved community members in making decisions about the future of their public schools, fire protection districts and cities. She has also been involved with nearly 100 successful public entity ballot initiatives.

Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, community engagement, campaign management, media relations and crisis management. Jennifer finds solutions to ensure her clients authentically engage their communities while also using data to make sound decisions. She and her team are problem solvers, using their wealth of experience to help organizations overcome challenges and bring a fresh, strategic perspective to their situations. Her innate curiosity leads her to ask questions and learn as much as she can about her clients, so she can provide the best solutions to their individual needs. 

Prior to starting what is now Discovery Works Collaborative in 2009, Jennifer worked as a senior associate at UNICOM-ARC. Other roles include communications director and interim executive director for KidSmart. She started her career as the media relations assistant for the Rockwood School District. Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and her work has been recognized by the National School Public Relations Association, 3CMA (City-County Communications and Marketing Association), The Tellys, and the Business Marketing Association. 

Growing up, Jennifer attended school in Indiana, New Jersey, and Ohio before moving to Missouri where she attended high school. Today, she lives in St. Louis with her husband Ben and their two daughters and two dogs. Traveling across the country for her clients supports her hobby of finding great travel deals. She loves visiting everywhere from cities to the mountains with her family. In her free time, you can often find her volunteering in the community, where she has served as president of the Clayton Community Foundation and the St. Louis Chapter of the Mizzou Alumni Association and been a member of the board for LoveU2Pieces, KidSmart - Tools for Learning and the St. Michael School of Clayton.