Mikola De Roo, MFA

Mikola De Roo, Managing Director of Communications & Marketing, oversees The Door’s messaging strategy, including social media, traditional media & PR, website and blog strategy, advertising and events promotions, and outreach to donors and potential and current Door youth members. 

Previously, Mika worked as a communications strategist for non-profit and corporate clients, including StoryCorps, Amida Care, HealthRight International, Business Record, M Booth Health, Accenture, and Dewey Media Group. She also served in leadership roles at other renowned non-profits—as VP of Public Affairs at Food Bank for New York City, the city's largest hunger-relief network, and as VP of Advocacy Communications & Marketing at Housing Works, one of the nation’s largest AIDS-service organizations, among others. 

Her role at The Door marks Mika’s return to supporting youth development. Prior to working into the non-profit sector, Mika had a lengthy editorial career in educational and trade publishing. She has also been a teacher at grade school, high school, college, and adult education levels. Mika received her BA degree at Carleton College, where she certified to teach high-school English, and her MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan, where she was a Colby Fellow and a recipient of the Tyson Award for Fiction.