Connecting Duke and Durham Through Storytelling

Name: Jenny MorganPosition: Senior program coordinator for communications, Duke Office of Durham and Regional AffairsYears at Duke: 1

What I do at Duke: I handle all of our communications internally and externally, and I also run Duke’s employee giving campaign, Doing Good in the Neighborhood. All of my colleagues are doing really interesting and important work around a lot of issues that Durham faces: Public education, housing and homelessness, food, and security, just to name a few. I see my role as letting other Duke entities know what we’re doing and also communicating between Duke and the community.

If I had $5 million, I would: probably buy a house in France. I’d buy a plane and dedicate some of the budget to traveling. My fiancé has been to all but two continents, and I really want to catch up.

My first ever job: I don’t know if it was The Baby-Sitters Club books or what, but I was dead-set as soon as I was old enough to babysit. I put a neighborhood ad out in everyone’s mailboxes the day I was allowed to. I think my parents said I was allowed to do low-stakes babysitting when I was 12.

My dream job: Collecting and sharing stories through audio. It would be a really perfect combination to teach undergrads how to make audio and then also make my own podcasts. I do actually teach now at the Center for Documentary Studies in the Continuing Education program. The class is “The Short Subject Audio Documentary” for audio documentaries between four and six minutes. 

The best advice I ever received: My first boss at Amherst College – I worked at a place called the Center for Community Engagement – was known to say, ‘Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,’ which is to say, ‘Don’t get so caught up in perfectionism or getting it 100-percent right that you don’t do something that is good.’

What I love about Duke: I love how involved Duke is in the community. I love that my office in particular believes in having an active and engaged role within Durham and that we see ourselves as partners with Durham through successes and challenges.

When I’m not at work, I like to: run a summer-long audio festival called “Audio Under the Stars” and that’s definitely what takes up a lot of my free time. There’s something really charming about being outside with a group of people and experiencing a story together. Audio also lends itself to a sense of participation. Last summer, we were really delighted that people would laugh together at a funny moment or clap when there was a moment of triumph or boo a point in the story where something didn’t go well.

An interesting/memorable day at work for me: I spent basically two days visiting and interviewing nonprofits in Durham. All of these nonprofits are supported by Doing Good in the Neighborhood. I went with a photographer, I recorded audio and I sat down with executive directors of the Diaper Bank of North Carolina, TROSA, The Green Chair Project, Meals on Wheels in Durham, and Book Harvest. I was so impressed with how talented and dedicated these nonprofit directors are and I felt humbled and excited to have the opportunity to share their stories with the Duke community.