As director of communications for StriveTogether, Dawn Raftery develops and executes strategic communications plans across the Cradle to Career Network and the education and nonprofit fields through the StriveTogether website, email marketing, media relations, social media and other initiatives.
Before coming to StriveTogether, Dawn worked at IFF, the largest community development financial institution in the Midwest, where she was the corporate communications manager. She led communications and implemented rebranding efforts for the Chicago-based organization, including managing all digital and print content, overseeing the annual report and collateral system, engaging the media and conducting social media efforts.
For more than a decade, Dawn worked in journalism, working as a top editor for a suburban division of the Chicago Sun-Times News Group and overseeing a 27-member team at a global marketing and internet services company in launching and managing more than 130 community magazines in 11 states.
Dawn graduated from Northern Illinois University with a bachelor of arts in English and a women’s studies minor. Her community involvement includes serving as a Women United Giving Council member at Chicago Foundation for Women and a mentor for Goodman Theatre’s Young Critics program. She is also a former board member of the Association for Women Journalists-Chicago. Dawn is based in Chicago, Ill.