Ariel Durgana is the Program Coordinator of the Bunker Labs Ambassador program at the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. As Program Coordinator, Ariel oversees the execution of programming and serves as a liaison between the organization and our program participants. Ariel also leads the ecosystem partnerships work for all programs under Bunker Labs and executes national and local events and activations alongside them.

Prior to her time at Bunker Labs, Ariel served as the Director of Strategic Planning and Communications at Dairy Managment Inc., where she led the communication efforts of the Fuel Up to Play60 partnership, created the organization’s first project management department and directed transformation working teams to address the future of dairy through groundbreaking innovation.

Ariel has also served almost a decade of her career as a communications consultant where she has worked with Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, national philanthropies and higher education institutions to create strategic digital campaigns and robust internal communications messaging platforms.

Before her time as a consultant, Ariel also served as a teacher within the University of Notre Dame’s Community Learning Center creating entrepreneurship and advanced skills curriculums for high school juniors and seniors and taught Freshman algebra in the South Side of Chicago.

Ariel has recieved her Bachelor of the Arts in Human Development and Organizational Studies from Boston College and her Master’s in the Arts in Corporate Communications and Public Relations with a focus in social impact from Georgetown University.

Ariel lives in Chicago with her husband, dog and daughter and loves trying new restaurants, going for long family walks and spending time with friends and family. She’s an avid baker and specializes in charcuterie boards.