Julie Hanus
Public interest communications; organizational strategy; science communication; facilitation and convening design; environmental communication; network building; editorial strategy
Background & Expertise
Julie Hanus (she/her) is director of public interest communications & engagement at the Institute on the Environment, where she leads an integrated portfolio spanning communications and storytelling, organizational strategy, and network and convening design.
Her work centers on how an institution that generates expertise becomes one that matters: to communities, to decision-makers, and to the field. She leads IonE’s public interest communications practice, at the intersection of research, storytelling, and social change, and provides creative direction for major convenings and network-building initiatives including the IonE Affiliates program and Speaking Science, a University-wide partnership to build science communication skills and community among faculty, staff, and graduate students.
A senior advisor to IonE’s executive director, she has led the institute’s strategic and DEIJ planning and connects communications expertise to strategy, culture, and organizational effectiveness. Her advisory work also extends across the University of Minnesota, including roles with the USGS-funded Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and the NIA-funded Demography and Economics of Aging Coordinating Center, hosted by the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation.
A former journalist and magazine editor, she brought two decades of national media and editorial experience to the Institute, working for publications including American Craft, Utne Reader, and the Minnesota Star Tribune, winning both regional and national awards for her editorial work. Inducted as a Fellow of the Institute in 2024, she holds a master’s in strategic communication from the University of Minnesota and a BA in English from Macalester College.
Fostering Collaboration: Welcoming the 2024 IonE Affiliates
The complex environmental challenges we face today require interdisciplinary collaboration – but what does collaboration require?
At the Institute on the Environment, part of our answer is providing skilled, empowered people the opportunity to build meaningful relationships.