School of Continuing and Professional Studies > Faculty & Staff > Faculty Directory > danielle-perry

Danielle Perry

  • dperry@depaul.edu
  • Professor of Cannabis Studies
  • Adjunct

​​Biography

Danielle Perry most recently served as the Senior Director of Community Impact and Investment at Capital One where she led strategy and operations for the Capital One Foundation. She served as the first Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer (CROO) for Illinois. Appointed by Governor JB Pritzker after legalizing Adult Use of Cannabis, she worked with 13 state agencies to direct the regulation and taxation of Illinois' cannabis industry. Danielle became a national advocate for equity in cannabis. She's been an urban agriculture non-profit executive director who trained individuals with employment barriers and created Chicago's first and only USDA high production organic farm. As Director of Communications and Outreach for the City of Chicago, she engaged citizens about police accountability and government efficiency. Danielle has also worked on Capitol Hill as a Congressional Aide for Senator Chris Van Hollen. Lastly, Danielle Perry had the pleasure of serving as Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the Obama Administration, leading a National Community and School Garden Initiative in food-insecure communities. A native of the Chicagoland Area, Danielle earned her B.A. in Political Science and J.D. from Howard University in Washington D.C.​

Danielle teaches Cannabis and Society and Introduction to Cannabis ​at DePaul’s Cannabis Studies Program. She also teaches Equity in Cannabis at American University in Washington, DC.