Brian Hanson

About Brian Hanson

Brian Hanson is the Vice President of Studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He oversees the Council's research operations and hosts the Council’s weekly podcast, Deep Dish on Global Affairs.

Prior to joining the Council, Hanson taught courses on international relations and international development at Northwestern University for fifteen years. At Northwestern, he built the Buffett Institute for Global Studies to address pressing global issues through collaborative research, public dialogue, and engaged scholarship. He also developed innovative and award-winning curricular and co-curricular international experiential learning programs to prepare students for lifelong leadership.

Previously, Hanson worked for John Deere on a range of business, legislative, and regulatory issues in the Washington, DC government affairs office and as a foreign policy advisor to Senator Alan Dixon (IL). He also held positions with the United States Information Agency (USIA) and the Congressional Research Service.

Currently, Hanson is on the board of the Stanley Foundation, which advances collective action to address critical peace and security issues. He also chairs the board of GlobeMed, which strengthens the movement for global health equity by empowering students and communities to work together to improve the health of people living in poverty around the world. He is involved in international philanthropy through his service on the boards of the Holthues Trust and the Hanson Family Foundation.

In addition to earning his BA with high honors in political science from Grinnell College, he also conducted doctoral studies in political science at MIT.