Joe Hanel
Director of Communications
Director Joe Hanel communicates CHI's work to a broad audience, including news reporters, legislators, health advocates, and voters. He also performs research and analysis on the intersection of politics and policy and the interaction of federal and state health policy. As the communications lead for CHI’s Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity Alliance, he has been helping draft the organization's first strategic plan for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, including related supporting documents.
Joe has worked at CHI since 2014, following a 19-year career in Colorado newspapers. He served nine years as The Durango Herald’s Denver bureau chief, covering the legislature, federal courts, statewide campaigns, and natural resources issues. Joe also worked as a designer and copy editor for the Rocky Mountain News, the Longmont Daily Times-Call and the Greeley Tribune.
Joe graduated from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in international affairs from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Joe and his wife, Anna, live in Lakewood with two children, two goats, and a flock of chickens.
Sample Projects:
- Colorado's Health and Climate Policy Agenda
- Financial Map of the American Rescue Plan Act
- Hot Issues in Health
- 2022 Legislation in Review
- 2021 Colorado Health Access Survey Storybook
- COVID-19 in Colorado
Skills: Strategic communications, presentations, public policy research and analysis
Focus Areas:
- Legislative Services
- Communications
- Health Coverage and Access
I Do This Work Because… I believe everyone deserves a chance to participate in the policies that shape their lives and their health. Our culture is overwhelmed with opinions that lack evidence and evidence that’s comprehensible only to experts. I’m proud that CHI bridges this gap and provides solid analysis in a way that’s easy to understand. We enable meaningful participation in policymaking by a broad array of people — the very essence of democracy.