Jenn Frye is the Associate Director of Democracy North Carolina, a nonprofit, nonpartisan electoral reform organization based in Durham that is working to remove barriers to voting and serving in public office. She is a native North Carolinian who was born in Concord and has lived in Charlotte, Kannapolis, Gastonia and the Chapel Hill and Durham. Her family also lived briefly in Dallas, Texas. Jenn is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which she earned a BA in Political Science and German.
Jenn has over ten years of experience in program coordination and community organizing. She joined the Democracy NC staff in 2006 as an organizer for Southeastern NC after serving on the Board and being a Democracy Summer intern. In her current role as Associate Director, Jenn manages the daily operations of Democracy NC, participates heavily in the planning and implantation of the organizing and leadership training work and is responsible for staff and board development.
Prior to joining the Democracy NC staff, Jenn was the Assistant Director at North Carolinians Against Gun Violence. She was also a North Carolina Public Ally, working at the Interfaith Council for Social Services in Carrboro as a crisis intervention staffer and volunteer coordinator. Jenn currently serves as the Board Chair of Blueprint NC, a partnership of more than 40 non-profit organizations working on policies for better access to education and health care, higher wages, more affordable housing, a safer, cleaner environment and freedom from discrimination. She has previously served on the boards of NC Peace Action Education Fund, Traction (an organization focused on increasing civic engagement among young people) and the Orange County Commission for Women, which she chaired from 2007-2008.
In 2013, Jenn took a 2 month sabbatical to do a Spanish language immersion program in Xela, Guatemala. It was a profound experience that unlocked for her a new language and manner of self-expression, new awareness and indignation about the violence and exploitation in the world and new awe, respect and gratitude for the resilience and love of people for their families, culture, community, God and other human beings.
Jenn currently lives in Durham with her partner Carolina and her dog Ani. Jenn loves being active outside – sports, running, hiking, you name it! She and Carolina love to travel – even when only vicariously through the Amazing Race on TV! Jenn also spends a lot of time with her family – her mom, a music teacher and dad, a Lutheran pastor, live in Raleigh and her sister, who works in healthcare, lives in Wilmington. Jenn also loves music (listening to it, playing it, and downloading it) and enjoys reading, although sitting still is hard for her (yay for audio books)!