Janna Hedlund
Marketing Coordinator
Add to ContactsResume: BA in Mass Communication (Advertising concentration) with a Minor in French from Loyola University New Orleans; MS in Market Research and Consumer Behavior from IE Business School in Madrid. Previous experience includes Copywriter at Userlytics, Communications and Relationships Manager at Hunt Alternatives, Communications and Development Officer at OPEN, and Social Media Contractor at Democracy Notes.
Awards Won: No formal awards — but she did earn Class Clown as a high school superlative, which honestly might be the most impressive credential on this list.
Travel: After studying abroad in France in high school and college and spending a full year in Spain for grad school, Janna has kept her passport busy: Portugal, Ireland, England, Italy, Germany, Austria, Greece, the Czech Republic, Morocco, South Africa, and the Philippines. Picking a favorite is basically impossible, but Greece, Italy, Ireland, and the Philippines are all on the “can’t wait to go back” list. France, bless it, has been so thoroughly experienced that it’s lost some of its sparkle — though she’ll always want to return.
Food Philosophy: Peanut butter is in her personal top five foods (she’s very confident about this), and she has strong opinions on the perfect pb&j: creamy peanut butter, a specific locally-made blend of cherry, raspberry, and strawberry preserves that has permanently ruined all other jams, a generous hand with both spreads, and just-barely-toasted wheat bread that’s still soft. Ratio matters.
Reality Check: Fully convinced she and her best friend Allie would be serious contenders on The Amazing Race. Their reasoning is airtight: different skill sets, great travel chemistry, competitive instincts, and level heads. She has already mentally assigned roles — Allie drives, Janna navigates. They’ve watched episodes and done the analysis. They are ready.
Best Lesson Learned From a Stranger: Work hard to hold onto the people you love — adult friendships take real effort to keep, and they’re worth it.
Worst Hair Phase: Bangs. Cute in theory, chaotic in practice. They would’ve looked great with styling – which they did not get. The result was “kid who just rolled out of bed,” and she’s made her peace with it.
Invaluable Because: Between a background in advertising, consumer behavior research, and communications work across nonprofits and tech, Janna brings a rare mix of strategic thinking and genuine people instincts to everything she touches. She’s the person who has already mapped out why something works — or doesn’t — before most people have finished reading the brief. Add in multilingual fluency, a deeply considered pb&j philosophy, and the kind of loyalty that earns a best friend willing to co-pilot a race around the world, and you’ve got someone who makes the whole team sharper.