Jennifer Park
Executive Director, Opportunity Accelerator, Results for America
Jennifer Park is the Executive Director of the Opportunity Accelerator at Results for America. The Opportunity Accelerator partners with government to promote economic mobility and reduce racial disparities, ultimately strengthening the wellbeing of individuals and fostering thriving communities. Since 2015, Jenn developed and led signature programs supporting local government in leveraging data and evidence to accelerate outcomes for residents. She served as a founding member of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities (WWC) initiative, one of the largest-ever philanthropic efforts to enhance cities’ use of data. She created and scaled WWC Certification, the first-ever national standard of excellence for well-managed, data-driven local government. Under her leadership, the program recognized and celebrated 50 local governments for their exceptional use of data to inform policy decisions, allocate funding to improve services, evaluate the effectiveness of programs, and engage residents. Jenn also established WWC's City Budgeting for Equity and Recovery program, a 15-month effort that helped 28 U.S. cities confront budget crises while strengthening their commitment to equity in the wake of COVID-19.
Previously, Jenn managed the expansion of Echoing Green’s Work on Purpose program, an award-winning curriculum designed to help young professionals identify their purpose and put it into action by creating a career with impact. She also supported the Global Fellowship program, providing early seed funding and strategic support to social entrepreneurs to accelerate ideas into impactful social enterprises.
Her previous experience includes developing and executing regional organizing strategies for Mayors Against Illegal Guns (now Everytown for Gun Safety) and launching the inaugural Alumni Project at the 57th Presidential Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Jenn began her career in clinical research at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She has a life-long commitment to systems transformation, innovation, and social justice.
Jenn is a Visiting Practitioner (ViP) at Cornell Tech’s Public Interest Tech initiative (PiTech). She serves as a member of the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance Task Force and as a panelist for the National Science Foundation’s Civic Innovation Challenge. She is on the board of directors for the Korean American Democratic Committee and the Villanova University Alumni Association. Jenn attended Villanova University and the University of Southern California.