Jonny creates, consults and communicates with conservation, agriculture and enterprise through his business, Jonny Hanson Consulting and Communications. He is also establishing a nature edutainment startup called Jonny Hanson Ventures (JHV), which is developing a series of linked brands and stories. In-development JHV stories include on rewilding, snow leopards and Malawi, while purpose-driven, premium brand Malawi Mountain® Gin is at the prototype stage.
Jonny grew up in Monaghan, Ireland, and Malawi, Africa, before studying medieval history and archaeology at Queen’s University Belfast, followed by business management and sustainability at Queen’s University Management School. After working in nature education and fundraising, he completed a PhD in snow leopard conservation at the University of Cambridge.
Since April 2022, Jonny has co-delivered the Cultivating Community Farming project, a Co-op Foundation-funded accelerator program for 10 diverse, early-stage community farming projects across Northern Ireland. Jonny is also a 2023 Nuffield Farming Scholar, a program of study and travel for future farming leaders about the future of farming. Sponsored by the Thomas Henry Foundation, his research topic, on which he is neutral, is ‘Large carnivore reintroductions to Britain and Ireland: farmers’ perspectives and management options.’ He is also writing a popular book on the topic (to be published by Pelagic in early 2025).
Beyond his day-to-day work, Jonny is also the Founder of Jubilee Community Benefit Society, a social enterprise which owns and operates Jubilee Farm, Northern Ireland’s first community-owned farm. He established and led the organisation 2014 – 2022. Jonny is also an Associate of the Snow Leopard Conservancy, a leading international snow leopard conservation NGO, and was a Trustee of the Nyika-Vwaza Trust, a UK conservation charity active in Northern Malawi, 2017-22.
Jonny has worked with numerous wild and domestic animals on four continents, including with 20 of the world’s 40 species of cat, and has published peer-reviewed (see Google scholar profile) articles on a range of topics. As well as having vocational qualifications in habitat conservation, pesticide management and pig farming, Jonny is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
In 2019 he was awarded Social Enterprise Northern Ireland’s inaugural Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, and is a frequent media commentator on a range of environmental and agricultural issues. Between January and April 2021 Jonny and Jubilee Farm featured in Series 9 of UTV’s perennially popular program, Rare Breed – A Farming Year. An emerging presenter and broadcaster, Jonny has written, directed, produced and presented several documentary ‘shorts’ for the Northern Ireland Science Festival, as welll as a series of short reports for sustainable agriculture podcast, Farmerama Radio.
Jonny is happily married to Paula. They live in Northern Ireland with their three children.
You can view and download Jonny’s CV here:
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