Jane Hirt

Jane Hirt knows how to win hearts and minds. She is a co-founder of M. Harris & Co, a marketing firm specializing in science communication, and she pulls from a bottomless well of curiosity and creativity for clients like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

Before joining M. Harris & Co., Jane was a journalist for more than two decades at the Chicago Tribune, starting as an intern and moving up to become the managing editor and vice president.

From 2008-2014, she managed and led 400+ Tribune journalists through seismic changes in media platforms and business models—including the dawn of social media, The Great Recession, and Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Before that, in 2022, she co-founded a news startup called RedEye, a pioneering Tribune publication that targeted Millennials almost before there was a name for them. The successful Chicago tabloid ruled the morning commute, and came years before the invention of the iPhone, Facebook, YouTube and other things that would ultimately disrupt and kill RedEye. But that’s how it goes in this age of disruption.

Over the last decade, Jane has been a marketer at M. Harris & Co., specializing in brand messaging, digital marketing, content and leadership training. Almost everyone Jane works with wants to work with her again. That goes for clients and employees.

Jane serves as treasurer of the Board of Directors for American Documentary and is a trustee of the national Chi Omega Foundation.