Jay Verner

Jay Verner has a diverse work experience spanning over 20 years. Jay is currently the Director of Communications at Thrivent, where they lead a team providing strategic communications expertise to the largest business division within the organization. Prior to that, Jay worked at Allstate, where they held the position of Senior Manager of Corporate Relations, providing strategic communication counsel to various company executives. Before Allstate, Jay worked at COUNTRY Financial as the Manager of Public Affairs and Media Relations, leading the team responsible for external communications and achieving year-over-year increases in earned media placements. Jay also has experience in academia, serving as an Adjunct Faculty member at Illinois State University, where they mentored students in advanced broadcast journalism. Earlier in their career, Jay worked in television news as an Anchor/Reporter for WMBD-TV and as an Anchor/Reporter for WJBC-AM, a top-rated news/talk radio station.

Jay Verner completed a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication/Broadcast Journalism at Illinois State University from 1994 to 2000. From 1996 to 1998, they also earned an Associate of Arts (A.A.) from Heartland Community College. Currently, Jay Verner is pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Administration and Management at Gies College of Business - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with an expected completion date in the future. In addition to their formal education, they have obtained certifications in various courses related to entrepreneurship, corporate strategy, business strategy, designing the organization, and managing the organization through Coursera.