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Erin B. Hart

Principal

Erin B. Hart Headshot

Erin believes that strategic communication makes social and environmental change happen. She’s committed to building a field of changemakers and has worked with foundations, nonprofits, government agencies and more to help them engage their audiences in ways that make a difference for people’s health, the environment and social justice – every day and in times of crisis.

At Spitfire, Erin integrates social-science insights into campaign and communication plans, learning opportunities and the events/experiences that bring communication efforts to life. She partners with organizations including Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, National Center for Family Philanthropy, Strada Education and Stupski Foundation. She’s crafted plans on foundation spend-downs at a time when communities especially need their support, brought bloggers and journalists together for shared learning experiences on storytelling, and helped organizations see and shape their roles in social movements. She plays with other social changemakers through the frank community, which remains committed to growing and diversifying public interest communication.

Before coming to Spitfire, Erin served as Fenton’s chief client officer and the built the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s first strategic communications department, where she refreshed the organization’s identity and launched initiatives including the Earthquake Early-Warning System. She has developed and supported campaigns including a California effort on growing and diversifying the state’s healthcare workforce and preventing youth from starting to smoke via truth initiative and similar state-specific efforts. She served as Florida’s environmental education director and worked in communication and education roles for Florida Marine Research Institute and Florida Museum of Natural History. Erin’s work to connect everyday behaviors to environmental conservation include development of a 10,000-square-foot exhibit and campaign on everyday environmental behaviors, public-private training collaborations, entertainment and media partnerships, and a variety of special events.

Erin recognizes her journalism training as giving her the ability to make dense information approachable and identify actions audiences can take to make a meaningful difference. And she recognizes her parents for making that training possible by ensuring she had the opportunity to go to college. Erin has a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Florida, which recognized her for the College of Journalism and Communications Hall of Fame. Erin and Kristen Grimm co-teach a course in strategies for policy impact at University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy, and Erin teaches public interest communication and strategic communication at the University of Oregon.