Jenn Lilly

Jenn Miller Scarnato is a doctoral student in the Social Work track of the City, Culture, and Community program at Tulane University. Jenn is also a fellow in the Mellon Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship, a coordinator for the NOLA Digital Consortium, and a research assistant with the Traumatology Institute and the Center for Natural Connections.

Jenn earned a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies & Gender Studies and a Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago, and an interdisciplinary Bachelor’s Degree focused on Documentary Filmmaking from the University of Central Florida. Both within and outside of academia, Jenn’s work has focused on storytelling for social justice within immigrant and indigenous communities in the U.S. and Latin America.

Before joining the CCC program, Jenn worked in the non-profit arena for 10 years developing culturally sensitive programs and policies for immigrants and communities of color. This included community organizing with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and fostering cultural resilience through documentary filmmaking with indigenous youth in Guatemala.

As a doctoral student, Jenn’s interests focus on joining narrative therapy and media production to promote collective resilience in the face of trauma. She works with migrant youth in the U.S. and Guatemala to share their stories through participatory filmmaking.