Gwendolyn Purdom is the Director of Communications at the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. Working closely with program, policy, and senior leaders, Purdom develops and drives the organization’s communication strategy and oversees the execution of content across all platforms.

Before joining the Civic Committee, Purdom spent five years as the Associate Director of Communications within the University of Chicago’s Office of Civic Engagement. In addition to serving as the office’s lead writer and editor, she was responsible for email and newsletter planning, managing day-to-day programs communications, and acting as a liaison with internal and external partners.

Purdom previously was an editor and content strategist at media outlets including Preservation magazine at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Houzz, and Culturess.com, where she served as editor in chief. She also covered local and national news and culture as a print, digital, and on-camera reporter for news organizations ranging from the Chicago Tribune to Washingtonian magazine, USA Today, The American Scholar, Living Healthy Chicago, Well + Good, Mental Floss, and others. She has a master’s in public policy from the University of Chicago; a bachelor’s in journalism and psychology from Lehigh University; and has worked in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay Area. When she’s not working, Purdom can usually be found exploring Chicago neighborhoods with her husband, two children, and their Australian shepherd mix Pam Beesly.