Jenna Peters joins the Markle Foundation as Executive Project Director for the AI for Disasters + Emergencies (AIDE) Initiative. With executive leadership experience across federal and local government, the non-profit sector, and private-sector consulting, Jenna has built her career at the intersection of strategic operations, emergency management, and community resilience, translating policy into practice and bringing partners across sectors to the same table.
Most recently, Jenna served as Vice President and Deputy Chief of Staff at United Way Worldwide, where she advised the CEO and executive leadership team, managed global network priorities, and co-chaired the Resilient Communities Advisory Council. Before that, as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), she led the Office of the Administrator, driving executive operations, interagency coordination, and senior staff alignment across hundreds of federally declared disasters. Notably, she helped guide the agency through one of the most active disaster periods in its history, including Hurricanes Ian, Helene, and Milton, the Maui wildfires, and successive atmospheric river events in California.
Earlier, as Chief of Staff at New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM), Jenna helped lead the City’s COVID-19 response from the Emergency Operations Center, managing executive operations and inter-agency coordination through the longest sustained activation in the agency’s history. In parallel, she designed and executed the first comprehensive organizational modernization NYCEM had ever undertaken. She began her career in environmental policy, public health, and homeland security consulting, including work with Cadmus and the National Wildlife Federation.
At Markle, Jenna leads the AIDE Initiative, working alongside emergency managers, technologists, researchers, and community leaders to harness AI for the public good. To learn more about the AIDE Initiative, visit: Home – AI for Disasters & Emergencies
