Hannah Thompson-Weeman is president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, a nonprofit working to safeguard the future of animal agriculture and its value to society by bridging the communication gap between the farm and food communities. In her role, Hannah provides strategic direction to the organization and oversees its operations along with engaging key stakeholders about the value of animal agriculture and providing guidance to the animal agriculture community about managing various issues, including animal rights extremist activity and campaigns.
Hannah joined the Alliance in 2014 and has served in various leadership roles involving communications, issues management and strategic engagement. Hannah’s passion for the future of animal agriculture and expertise in farm security, crisis management and effective communication strategies have made her a sought-after spokesperson, speaker and columnist. In her time with the Alliance she has given hundreds of media interviews and presentations to audiences across the U.S. and around the world. Hannah’s work has been recognized with the NextGen Award (2021) and the Public Relations Professional Development Award (2019) from the National AgriMarketing Association, the Young Alumni Award (2020) from The Ohio State University Department of Agricultural Communications, Education and Leadership and the Outstanding Alumni Award (2018) from the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow.
Hannah holds a B.S. in agricultural communication with a minor in agricultural business and an M.S. in agricultural and extension education from The Ohio State University. While pursuing her education, Hannah completed an undergraduate thesis based on agricultural policy and a graduate thesis focused on crisis communications and planning within the dairy community. Prior to joining the Alliance, Hannah worked in marketing and public relations for Farm Credit Mid-America. She lives in rural Maryland with her husband and their three pets - two dogs and a cat.