Daniela Perry
Vice President of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Foundation
University of Georgia (BS or BA) ’12, MPA ‘19
Smyrna, GA
Daniela attributes her introduction into the world of public policy and government to her parents. “We just had a lot of conversations at our dinner table about serving your community and helping those around you and about government’s role in that. I think growing up in a military family helped us understand all that our nation’s government does to help. It was just something that we did. We were really involved in our local politics as well, and so I just grew up in it. I always knew I wanted to go into that field.”
When her family moved from Charleston to Madison, Georgia, the appeal of the HOPE Scholarship was a major draw to the state. “Part of the reason that they really wanted to move to Georgia was the HOPE Scholarship. They saw this huge opportunity and knew that Georgia had great schools.”
The scholarship proved to be worth the move when both Daniela and her younger sister decided to attend the University of Georgia. “It was huge. It really allowed me to go to the University of Georgia, and it was part of the reason I stayed in state. I looked at other opportunities, but knowing that I could go to the University of Georgia and really have a full college experience with on campus activities and not burden myself with any kind of student debt, was a huge, huge relief. And it is something that I’m just so fortunate that we have in our state.”
“I learned so much about different kinds of people that we have in our state, how everyone’s personal experience really impacts their perspective and how to look at everyone’s personal perspective and how to find common ground. Being able to respect different perspectives and being able to find opportunities to work together. I was really able to start serving in leadership roles with campus organizations that helped me to look at situations critically and find those opportunities to be empathetic but be firm and make strong decisions.”
Daniela now serves as the Vice President of the Georgia Chamber Foundation, working to promote and create policies that encourage economic growth in the state. “I feel very passionate that there’s a lot of work in the state to be done to continue to increase opportunity, to continue to grow our state’s workforce, to continue to create a more prosperous state. We’ve had such strong leadership. There’s so many opportunities to make sure that we continue to foster prosperity and growth in the state, to make Georgia the best place to live and work for years to come.”
Daniela lives in Smyrna with her husband, Cole, and their dog.