Jeff Julian is new Public Awareness Office director

CHICAGO – Cathleen Bourdon, associate executive director for advocacy and member relations, has announced that Jeff Julian will be the new director of the Public Awareness Office, effective January 4, 2016.

Julian previously served as the executive director of communications at Elgin (Ill.) Community College. In this position, he was responsible for leading strategic media and public relations programs, projects and campaigns to promote, enhance, and protect the image, reputation, and brand of Elgin Community College, a public community college serving approximately 12,000 students in a 360-square-mile district. Prior to joining the Elgin Community College staff, Julian served as the director of communications and external relations at Joliet (Ill.) Junior College.

Julian has a Master’s degree in English Studies from Elmhurst (Ill.) College and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Communications from the University of St. Francis, Joliet, Ill. He is a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations, the Public Relations Society of America and holds a certification from the Crisis Leadership in Higher Education Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Julian serves as co-chair of the Board of Directors of Girls Rock! Chicago, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering girls’ creative expression, positive self-esteem and community awareness through rock music.

“We are very pleased to welcome Jeff Julian to ALA and look forward to his leadership in directing the Libraries Transform campaign, ALA’s new public awareness program,” Bourdon stated. “Members of the Search Committee were impressed with his experience in public awareness, media relations, reputation management, and his use of social media to share stories and key messages with community members and reporters.”

Julian stated, “I am excited to be part of the team that tells the ALA story in a way that increases awareness of the importance of libraries and connects the organization with librarians, constituents, and supporters.”

Members of the Search Committee included Bourdon; Nancy Dowd, product manager, LibraryAware and chair of the ALA Public Awareness Committee; Keith Michael Fiels, ALA executive director; Karen Danczak Lyons, library director, Evanston Public Library; Marci Merola, director, Office for Library Advocacy; Hallie Rich, communications and external relations director, Cuyahoga County Public Library; Beth Yoke, executive director, Young Adult Services Association; and Dan Hoppe, director, Human Resources.