Keep America Beautiful Appoints Jennifer M. Jehn as President and CEO

Dec 12, 2013 9:00 AM ET

STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 12, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Keep America Beautiful (KAB), the nation’s leading nonprofit that builds and sustains vibrant communities, today announced the appointment of Jennifer M. Jehn to lead the organization as its new president and CEO, beginning in January.

Jehn is a proven leader with expansive marketing and management experience. Most recently, she held several leadership positions within Dow Jones & Company, including serving as head of consumer sales and circulation marketing. She succeeds Matthew M. McKenna, who left KAB to become an investment advisor at the United States Department of Agriculture.

“Jennifer’s marketing acumen matched by her passion for sustainable social impact makes her uniquely qualified to lead Keep America Beautiful and accelerate our important work in communities across the country,” said Tim Gardner, chairman of the nonprofit’s board of directors and executive vice president of Illinois Tool Works. “Jennifer is a decisive consensus-builder and intensely results-oriented. We are confident in her ability to drive new levels of success across the organization.”

Jehn will lead this well-respected nonprofit that executes a wide range of programs and service projects based on the knowledge and needs of local communities – while expanding support and increasing recognition for the 60-year-old organization.

With a strong national network of affiliates and partners including state recycling organizations, KAB works with millions of active volunteers who take action in their communities to deliver positive and sustainable impact. Through its programs and public-private partnerships, KAB engages individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment.

“I have great respect for Keep America Beautiful, its mission and its powerful affiliate network embedded in thousands of communities across the country,” said Jehn. “This organization plays a pivotal role in keeping communities beautiful while reducing waste and increasing recycling. I look forward to working closely with its board, its affiliate network and all the volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to this well-established organization.”

Most recently, KAB forged partnerships with the Clinton Global Initiative and the Ad Council to launch significant education and behavior-change campaigns in the recycling arena. In addition, through just two of its programs, the Great American Cleanup and America Recycles Day, the nonprofit recruits more than 4 million active volunteers annually and sponsors events in more than 20,000 communities.

Jehn serves on the board of governors for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and board of directors for Trinity Café and RENEW International. She is an associate board member of the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union and a trustee of Northland College.  Jehn holds a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin.

About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful is the nation’s leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations including state recycling organizations, we work with millions of volunteers to take action in their communities. Keep America Beautiful offers solutions that create clean, beautiful public places, reduce waste and increase recycling, generate positive impact on local economies and inspire generations of environmental stewards. Through our programs and public-private partnerships, we engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment. For more information, visit kab.org and follow @kabtweet on Twitter.