Ilana Foggle

Director

Ilana Foggle left her West Wing Writers internship early to serve as Speechwriter for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade just a month into her tenure, Ilana found herself writing for one of the fiercest defenders of abortion rights in the country—and she didn’t mince words:

“Get your iron boot off women’s necks.”

Ilana went on to pen two State of the State addresses and hundreds of speeches throughout her tenure—surviving more than a few 5 a.m. wake-up calls and at least one flat tire in Springfield. After leaving the Governor’s office, she crafted global executive messaging for GitHub’s C-suite and led executive communications for UChicago Medicine—before eventually finding her way back to us.

At West Wing Writers, Ilana continues to write about reproductive rights, the future of technology, and equitable healthcare—along with a slate of progressive causes, from union rights to people power.

Ilana graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Politics and a minor in Rhetoric & Composition. She got her start in politics in Iowa, working in communications on Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign, then in Ohio as Deputy Communications Director for a congressional campaign in the heinously gerrymandered Fourth District. Today, she’s a proud Chicagoan.

In her spare time, you can find Ilana in her sunny South Side apartment with her partner and dog, writing songs on the electric guitar or banging out power ballads on a baby grand piano she got for a steal off Facebook Marketplace.