Jen Morris has 25+ years of experience in leadership, communications, and marketing spanning the corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors. She is currently the Chief of Staff for Denver Arts & Venues (DAV), the City and County of Denver agency responsible for operating some of the region’s most renowned facilities, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Colorado Convention Center, Denver Coliseum, Loretto Heights and McNichols Civic Center Building. DAV also oversees the Denver Public Art Program and offers funding opportunities for local cultural organizations and artists.

From 2018-2023, Jen served at the City & County of Denver’s Economic Development & Opportunity (DEDO) office as the Director of Marketing, Communications & Government Affairs and Chief of Staff before becoming the first female in the history of Denver to be appointed by a mayor to the role of Executive Director of economic development.
As the Executive Director of DEDO, Jen led a team of nearly 150 professionals and oversaw a budget of $80 million. Her department’s mission was to create an economy that works for everyone through global and domestic business recruitment and retention, small business and entrepreneur support, workforce development, and neighborhood equity initiatives.

Prior to joining DEDO she was the Vice President of Marketing & Communications for Mile High United Way, and led their overall marketing and communications strategy, as well as a member of a select group of thirty marketing executives across the 1,800 global United Way chapters to help lead the global marketing strategy for the United Way brand.

Jen’s experience also includes 13 years in San Francisco, including the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Contemporary Jewish Museum, where she helped open the Daniel-Libeskind designed facility, and oversaw all marketing and communications efforts, visitor services, as well as the development of the Museum’s events and facility rental program. Before joining the nonprofit world, she worked in various advertising agencies with a focus on high-tech, managing multi- million-dollar international media buys for companies including Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, Nokia, and Microsoft.

Jen has been a member of the Colorado Inclusive Economy, Colorado American Marketing Association, University of Colorado Alumni Association and is a supporter of many nonprofits, including Mile High United Way, Denver Public Library, Colorado Public Radio, Denver Dumb Friends League, and the American Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Jen was born and raised in New Paltz, New York, and graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is an avid traveler, loves to throw dinner parties and currently lives in Denver with her husband Clay and dog Maximus.