Team

Doug founded Hattaway Communications to help visionary leaders and organizations use the power of strategy, science, and storytelling to achieve ambitious goals for people and the planet. A storyteller by training—in journalism and creative writing—he is passionate about adapting insights from the social sciences to enhance the power of strategic communications.

He pioneered an approach known as Aspirational Communication, which was featured in a Stanford Social Innovation Review cover story about the historic marriage equality movement and Truth anti-smoking campaign, which “transformed public attitudes by connecting their causes to the personal aspirations of their audiences.”

Doug has three decades of experience working with leaders at the highest levels of U.S. politics and government, international organizations and NGOs, cutting-edge businesses, and the world’s largest foundations. He was an advisor and spokesperson for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and provided strategic counsel to the Obama White House and the Democratic leadership of the U.S. House and Senate.

He has traveled to dozens of countries to work with government leaders, political parties, and NGOs in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Early in his career, he worked as a press secretary to a senior member of Congress and as a freelance foreign correspondent in South America and the Caribbean.

He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a master's degree in English from Florida State University.

For fun, he spends time with his two awesome sons, barbecues anything that’s edible, and enjoys open-water swimming, sea kayaking, and hiking.