Jennifer A. Russell (she/her)

Founder, Managing Partner

Jennifer is re-entering the communications arena after a several-year hiatus to take care of her children. She is a freelance communications specialist and grant writer who has been fortunate enough to have several clients in SE Michigan, including the Wayne-Westland Community School District, Dream Centers of Michigan, Recovery Park, Tipping Point Theatre and Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program. She has provided web content for restaurants and a kitchen design center, and crafted media plans and press kits for specialty retail stores. She has developed strategic plans, proposals to county government, written winning grants from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Knight Foundation, Kresge, and more. She graduated  Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Marketing Communication from Point Park University (Pittsburgh, PA) in 2010, just 10 days after giving birth to her first son.  

She is an Americorps alumnus, working post-graduation as Operations Manager for a small nonprofit – named after freedom rider Sharry Everett – that provided scholarships to students in Pittsburgh’s Northside, many of whom were the first in their families to go to college. She also volunteered as a community organizer, working side by side with Pittsburghers who wanted their voices to be heard.

Jennifer lives in Detroit with her husband and two children. She believes that everyone has a story to tell, and that we all have our own book to write.

She can be reached by email jennifer@russellcommunicationsgroup.com or by phone at (313) 506-4064.

Her first grant-writing experience was while working in regional theater administration. At Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk, she wore many hats, including the assistant to the managing and artistic directors, handling everything from casting calls in NYC to working as a liaison between the board of trustees and management. After the development director left, her boss put a grant in front of her and said “write this. It’s due June 1st.” With his feedback, she won her first grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

She had a previous career in retail management, recognized for her leadership abilities and sales performance, boasting some of the most successful special events in the retailers’ history. She took great pride in training her team for personal and professional growth, managing $8 Million in business and a 50-person regional team, developing and coaching her sales force to excellence. 

She also had a career in broadcast communications both behind the scenes and on camera as a weather anchor in her hometown of Joplin, MO and started her career in radio at age 16 at a tiny AM radio station in Carthage, MO.

Ms. Russell has a passion for social, racial, environmental, and economic justice and is thrilled to be working toward creating a kinder, more equitable world. She believes community development always begins at the grassroots level. She has been on the board at two Unitarian Universalist congregations in Pittsburgh and in Southfield.