Meet new Public Information Coordinator Danielle Hefferan
Cook County and North Shore Health (NSH) have a new Public Information Coordinator. Danielle Hefferan began her time with the county and NSH at the beginning of December. She follows Todd Ford, who served in the role for three and a half years before his retirement this past fall.
Hefferan told WTIP that though this is her first job in Cook County, she is no stranger to the North Shore. She has lived in Finland, MN, in Lake County, since 2013. She will continue to live in Finland, and commute to Grand Marais several times each week, and work remotely the remainder of the time.
Hefferan first came to the Arrowhead to work at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center. There she worked as a naturalist, eventually becoming a coordinator and director for the naturalist program. Her background is in education, which she said really comes down to communication. “I have a lot of background in program design and implementation, facilitation, working with communities and educators to carry out the forms of education that they want to,” she said. “Being a good educator is all about being a good communicator.”
In addition to her time in education, Hefferan has worked in public service. She has previously acted as a township treasurer, which she also credits for helping her hone her public communication skills. She said, “Every month I got to prepare our financial reports, but also communicate them to the public. And there are always people there with questions, which I loved, because it helped me grow.”
Like Ford, Hefferan will split her time between Cook County and NSH. She said that she will maintain the regular communication that is already part of the public communication plans for both organizations. She added, however, that as she spends more time in the role, she hopes to bring her own flair to the job.
WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with new Public Information Coordinator Danielle Hefferan. Audio of that interview is below.
Kirsten Wisniewski December 12, 2025
