User:Jenna Benn

Jenna Benn is a 31-year-old civil rights advocate, world traveler and tiny twister who dreams big. In December 2010, Jenna was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called Grey Zone Lymphoma that affects fewer than 300 people in the United States. Instead of surrendering to cancer, she was determined to find meaning in her suffering. In the course of her fight, Jenna figured out creative ways to leverage social media to process her experience and in turn create a community of tiny twisters that became invested in her fight. In the course of a year, Jenna battled cancer and started a nonprofit called Twist Out Cancer - a Support Community … With A Twist that changes the way a survivor shares and the way a community gives. When Jenna isn't twisting, you can find her working full-time at the Anti-Defamation League where she oversees young leadership programming, media and PR and international affairs advocacy.

Twist Out Cancer (TOC) is a support community ...with a twist. TOC targets the commonly experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness that come with a cancer diagnosis by leveraging social media to create a global community of support and hope. In leveraging various social media platforms, this network educates and informs, creates a community of support and allows survivors and supporters to create a meaningful digital legacy. Cancer survivors film and share their unique Twist on Cancer and charge the community at large to support their Twists. Twists are meaningful challenges, dictated by the survivor, and easily documented by their supporters. The survivors Twists on Cancer and Twists  are intentionally shared publically to help raise awareness and share the invaluable lessons learned. This support community has the power to affect the way a survivor shares and the way a community gives. The skills that Jenna has developed with TOC are relevant and transferable to her work at ADL. Jenna oversees media and PR, and recently launched the agency’s first blog, which allows her to brand and market ADL programs and reach constituents in innovative and more meaningful ways.

Jenna has a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University. She currently resides in Chicago and is the Associate Director of the Anti-Defamation League.