Jenna Ahner

Jenna joined ESG in 2022 to lead initiatives on aligning high quality K-12, postsecondary, and industry pathways.

She provides deep expertise and technical assistance to support state agency leaders,across the education and workforce sectors, districts, postsecondary, and industry partners as they seek to connect education with talent strategies.Her work spans from high-level state policy development to hands-on local implementation. This work has included national collaborative efforts, such as the New Skills Ready Network, as well as support for a diverse range of regional efforts, including a collaborative of Southeastern states, the Permian Basin, and rural regions in North Carolina.

Prior to ESG, Jenna was the Executive Director of the Delaware State Board of Education. In this role she coordinated the State Board’s strategic priorities, and worked closely with Department of Education leadership to coordinate the Perkins V Transition Plan and 4-Year Plan. She served as primary staff member for the Delaware P-20 Council and represented the board on a range of committees and coalitions.

In previous roles, Jenna was a Senior Program Officer leading college and career initiatives at the Rodel Foundation of Delaware, a leading intermediary for the state. In this role she served as a founding member of Delaware’s cross-sector career pathways team. She’s also worked with University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration, a research and public service center within the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. She began her career as a Legislative Fellow for the Delaware House of Representatives, where she staffed the Education and Labor Committees.

Jenna earned her B.A. in Public Policy and International Relations and her Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Delaware.

Why are you in this work?

My commitment to this work is rooted in my own experience as a first-generation student navigating the transitions between K-12, college, and the workforce. I realized early on that while there is an incredible wealth of policy and institutional support available, these resources are often siloed, difficult to access, or not well publicized. Through my work I hope to bridge those gaps, ensuring that the systems and resources we build actually reach the students who need them most and that the path from education to a career is clear and navigable for everyone.

Why ESG?

The ESG team brings an impressive depth of experience from communities nationwide, offering the diverse expertise needed to tackle complex, ingrained challenges. What sets ESG apart is the ability to pair high-level vision with deep, on-the-ground implementation. By leveraging site-specific insights to drive broader policy shifts, the team is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between local impact and national scale.