Jenny is department head of Public Affairs & Media Research (PAMR) at NORC at the University of Chicago and director of The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Jenny leads PAMR’s high-quality domestic and international research to measure opinions and behaviors for clients including the nation’s top media, consulting, policymaking, and philanthropic organizations. She provides strategic oversight of the AP-NORC Center and its diverse portfolio of research projects and partnerships to generate evidence-based insights that inform public policy debates and contribute to the informed electorate every democracy needs to function properly. 

Jenny has managed and conducted survey research on a variety of topics including the public’s priorities and attitudes toward government, trust in news and attitudes toward journalism, and electoral behavior. With training and experience in political science, social psychology, and public health, Jenny’s research uses an interdisciplinary approach in both theory and method, and much of her research complements survey research with qualitative and experimental methods. She has a successful track record of distilling and packaging complex research for different audiences including journalists, policymakers, and the mass public.

Jenny has also published research on the relationships between interest organizations, PACs, and public policy, with a particular focus on state-level politics and policy. Prior to joining the AP-NORC Center, Jenny worked as a research scientist for NORC’s Public Health research department where her project work focused on issues with access to primary care and the dissemination and evaluation of comparative effectiveness research (CER).

Her research has been published by Georgetown University Press, Public Opinion Quarterly, Health Affairs, Digital Journalism, and State Politics and Policy, among others. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Associated Press, NPR (national and affiliates), CBS and local radio outlets, Newsweek, USA Today, the LA Times, and for specialty media projects such as the Code Switch project at NPR.

Jenny is active with the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and served as the co-chair of the AAPOR Transparency Initiative, among other committees. She currently serves on the Executive Council of PAPOR. She is a member of the National Academies of Science Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication.