Ann Searight Christiano

Ann Searight Christiano is the director of the Center for Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida, a newly established center that works with organizations around the world to apply social, behavioral and cognitive science to driving lasting social change. She is a clinical professor in the department of public relations.

As the inaugural Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications, she developed a curriculum in the newly-emerging discipline of public interest communications, which uses the tools of public relations and journalism to create positive social change.

Before joining the University of Florida, she directed communications for a portfolio of programs at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that create new opportunities for better health by investing in health where it starts and grows--in our homes, schools and jobs. She also developed a robust government relations program that helped Foundation grantees build productive relationships with their elected officials.

Searight Christiano's writing has appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Quartz and the Journal of Public Interest Communications.