Jill Hopke, assistant professor of journalism in the College of Communication, leads research focused on social media, climate activism and global energy systems. (DePaul University/Rachel Laden)

Photo credit: DePaul University/Rachel Laden.

I am an Associate Professor of Journalism in the College of Communication at DePaul University in Chicago. I research climate change communication, climate journalism and extreme weather, and how climate change is talked about on social media. I teach undergraduate and graduate classes in climate change communication and climate journalism, as well as social media journalism and introduction to mass communication.

I got my Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015, from one of the leading graduate programs in communication worldwide. While in graduate school I worked as a consultant in the UW DesignLab, a digital media lab and design consultancy service with the mission of improving students’ digital communication skills.

My research has been published in leading science communication and social media journals, including: Public Understanding of Science, Environmental Communication, Social Media + Society and Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. I am a founding member of the International Environmental Communication Association and regularly present research at national and international scholarly conferences.

I serve on the editorial boards for Environmental Communication and the new open access journal Climate Action.

I have written for The Conversation US, In These Times magazine, Nieman Reports and Yale Climate Connections, as well as appeared on Fox News. My writing for The Conversation US has been republished in the International Business Times and Salon, as well as numerous local publications around the country.

My professional experience includes social media marketing, radio production and grant writing. I worked as a Digital Media Strategist for the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for two years. Before attending graduate school I worked in community and alternative media, including as News and Public Affairs Director for WORT 89.9 FM in Madison, Wisconsin and Development Director for The Progressive magazine.