Jenny Wittner is a senior director on Arabella’s Managed Organizations team, which manages several nonprofits, including the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a separate 501(c)(4). Jenny leads the Managed Organizations team in Chicago, helping to incubate nonprofits and implement donor collaboratives, advocacy campaigns, and grant-making initiatives.
Prior to joining Arabella Advisors, Jenny was the associate director at Women Employed, where she developed and oversaw the organization’s advocacy, policy, and program work to promote the economic advancement of women. She had a particular interest in ensuring that policies and programs in community colleges effectively helped low-income women and non-traditional students to advance to better employment.
Jenny was one of the founders of Chicago Commons Employment Training Center, which provided comprehensive support services and education and training to women on welfare. She started her career in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms, teaching adults to speak English, training teachers, developing programs, and creating curricula.
Jenny holds a BA in social studies from Harvard College and an MA in linguistics and ESL teaching from Northeastern Illinois University.