Simmons College School of Management

---

Bio

Kris DeGraw Danna is the Principal of VolunTheory, LLC, the product of her uniquely diverse experiences as an educator and leader; program developer and change manager; and collaborator and relationship manager for Simmons College, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Citizens Bank, the ESPN X Games and the Boston Marathon.

As an educator and leader, Kris is currently an adjunct faculty member for the Simmons College Master's in Communication program (MCM). From 1996 to 2009, while at Citizens Bank, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Simmons College, she created and coordinated internal communications and branding strategies for employees, volunteers and students and produced innovative program events for student, employee and volunteer groups that supported management's fiscal goals and satisfaction in the workplace.

As a program developer and change manager, from 1996 to 2009, while at Citizens Bank, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Simmons College, Kris produced service learning, workforce development and mandatory service programs with city and regional preparatory, charter, high school, college, graduate and post-baccalaureate educational institutions. She also assessed and managed personnel risks and performance and created measurable outcomes. Ms. Danna created and managed the growth of internal campaigns and initiatives and communicated across departments, campuses and affiliate associations to establish credentialing processes and site placements for sponsored staff and volunteers.

Finally, and the key component to Kris reaching high professional standards, her abilities as a collaborator and relationship manager, from 1992 to present at the Boston Marathon, the ESPN X Games, Citizens Bank, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Simmons College, Kris DeGraw Danna thrived as a communications manager by forming lucrative partnerships both internally and externally. This required a firm understanding of future organizational needs in the areas of workforce development, enhanced board and executive committee roles, employee satisfaction and constituent diversification.

She has been a corporate and organizational liaison and spokesperson to underserved, minority and student groups in order to provide education and access to the services and splendor of world-renowned organizations. Kris aligned internal volunteer, youth, community and student programs with new external partners in order to increase organizational capacity.

Ms. Danna managed teams of up to 17 employees and budgets of $75k to $3M. She has been a member of senior management teams, reporting directly to president(s) and CEO(s), a statewide spokesperson, media contact and public relations manager, and was a resource and key contact to all business lines.

Kris has a BS in Sport Management from Guilford College in Greensboro, NC and an MS in Communications Management from Simmons College in Boston, Ma. She lives in Needham, Ma with her two children.