Whenever possible, we want to feature people not seen at other live lit events. So we’re very pleased to welcome Jeff Danna – author of the popular Main Street Beverly blog – to The Frunchroom on July 16th.

Jeff’s passion for cities and neighborhoods — especially Chicago and its many enclaves drives his writing on his blog, Main Street Beverly. Tackling the subject of urbanism, or how the built environment shapes social interaction, Jeff started the blog partly as a personal, creative outlet but also in hopes of sparking a dialogue about the future of a community that inspires such devotion in those who call it home.

By day, Jeff works in internal communications for Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, helping tell the stories of the tens of thousands of healthcare providers and support staff members who make the health system function. Previously, he spent seven years as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times News Group, covering municipal government, schools and a variety of other stories in Chicago’s suburbs. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2006 with a degree in magazine journalism.

Jeff and his wife, Amy, moved to North Beverly in 2012 with their long-haired Maine coon, Echo, after living in the South Loop and Uptown. He grew up in the far north-suburban village of Antioch and has lived in Chicago neighborhoods from Lincoln Square to Pilsen.

To learn more about Jeff and to read his blog, visit mainstreetbeverly.wordpress.com.

Jeff will be reading about…walking. Specifically, why he uses his feet as his primary mode of transportation, why building a community for walkers is important and the differences between his experiences walking on the North Side and walking on the South Side.

You can see Jeff and our other readers at O’Rourke’s Office on July 16th at 7:30pm.