Hanke Gratteau Joins the Ounce of Prevention Fund
January 12, 2010CHICAGO – Hanke Gratteau, a former award-winning journalist, joined the Ounce of Prevention Fund as vice president of public affairs on Jan. 3. In her new position, Ms. Gratteau will work to integrate communications across the early childhood organization.
The Ounce of Prevention Fund serves 4,000 young children in early learning programs in Illinois, and engages in advocacy, research and training activities related to early childhood.
"We are excited to welcome Ms. Gratteau to the Ounce at a time when interest in early childhood initiatives is growing," said Harriet Meyer, president of the Ounce of Prevention Fund. "She will play a critical role in helping us communicate about early learning issues both in Illinois and nationally."
Before joining the Ounce, Ms. Gratteau served as executive director of the John Howard Association of Illinois, a sentencing and corrections reform advocacy group.
Ms. Gratteau has over three decades' experience reporting on matters of public interest at the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News.
She left the Chicago Tribune in 2008, after serving in a variety of positions, including investigative reporter, columnist, metropolitan editor, and finally, managing editor for news.
At the Chicago Tribune, Ms. Gratteau directed the reporting efforts for "Gateway to Gridlock," an examination of national air traffic congestion that won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism.
In January 2009, Gov. Patrick Quinn appointed Ms. Gratteau to the Illinois Reform Commission, a panel of citizens charged with recommending changes to Illinois laws in the aftermath of the arrest of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Her work for that commission resulted in a successful collaboration with state officials to re-write Illinois' Freedom of Information Act to increase government transparency.
Ounce of Prevention Fund
The Ounce of Prevention Fund gives children in poverty the best chance for success in school and in life by advocating for and providing the highest quality care and education from birth to age five. Educare, the Ounce's birth-to-five school on Chicago's South Side, has become a national model for narrowing the academic achievement gap for low-income children. The Ounce also advocates for programs and policies that benefit young children and families; provides training to early childhood professionals in Illinois; and engages in rigorous research and evaluation projects that contribute to best practices throughout the early childhood field.