Heather Brandon has joined The Connecticut News Project as Director of Civic Media, a new position responsible for the News Project’s efforts to promote civic engagement throughout Connecticut. Heather’s responsibilities will include the creation of a new website and coordinating forums and other events. This will all happen in close collaboration with The Connecticut Mirror, media partner WNPR, the Hartford Public Library, and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving through the Community Information Hub project. As partners, the organizations will coordinate activities that inform and engage the public and community leaders on education, workforce development and other pressing issues.
Heather is a former freelance producer for Morning Edition, Where We Live, and The Colin McEnroe Show at WNPR. She produced several broadcasts away from the radio station, including a two-day downtown broadcast in a vacant Hartford storefront. Heather grew up in Pittsburgh, and lives in Hartford with her husband and three children.
Heather writes occasionally for the award-winning blog Urban Compass. She has a master’s degree in public policy from Trinity College, and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Bryn Mawr College. Prior to her Hartford adventures, Heather did graphic design and website work. She founded a youth-authored zine, One, and published an anthology of stories, On The Front Lines.
If you’d like to learn more about how you or your organization might participate, please contact either Heather Brandon at heather.m.brandon@gmail.com or Jim Cutie at jcutie@ctmirror.org.