Caitlin Johnson has leveraged her background in journalism, research, organizing, and strategic communications to win campaigns that improve the lives of people across Ohio. Before joining Burges & Burges Strategists in 2023, Caitlin served as Policy Matters Ohio’s communications director for six years. During her time with the research institute, she revamped its communications strategy by growing its social media presence, deepening relationships with members of the media, and deploying new tactics to reach key audiences. She helped develop and launch the All in For Ohio campaign and brand, which won increased state funding for public schools, child care, and higher education.
As a senior organizer with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC), Caitlin led campaigns that shuttered an illegally operating frack waste facility in Jefferson County and stopped cuts to key bus routes that served some of Cleveland’s most under-resourced communities. As a fellow at the George Gund Foundation, Caitlin developed the foundation’s grantmaking response to the natural gas drilling boom in Ohio.
Caitlin began her career as a journalist and at NOW on PBS, belonged to a team that produced “Taxing the Poor,” which won the 2008 Emmy Award for outstanding analysis of a business news story. Caitlin has an undergraduate degree in government and English from Cornell University, a master’s of science in journalism from Columbia University, and a master’s of public administration from Cleveland State University.