Jason Franz is an assistant director of Strategic Marketing and Communications with ASU Knowledge Enterprise. In this role, Jason oversees brand and outreach strategies, media relations, web and social media platforms for the Biodesign Institute. This portfolio of programs includes the 16 research centers within the institute as well as the groundbreaking CXFEL facility.
Prior to supporting the Biodesign Institute, Jason directed strategic marketing and communications for the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, which included the College of Global Futures and its four schools, the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, the ASU Water Institute and more than 70 other centers, programs and initiatives. An example of this work is the Global Futures: Futurecast, a regularly published journal of research and though leadership from across the Global Futures Laboratory looking 5-10 years ahead and beyond in order to best anticipate and develop applied solutions to our global challenges.
Leading up to the establishment of the Global Futures Laboratory in 2019, Jason supported the marketing and communications efforts of the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives (est. 2012). To promote the impacts of the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, Jason supervised the creation of the Thinking Globally short film, the Driving Impact Through Collaboration eBook and the 2018 6-7-8 Impact Report. Jason has helped position Walton Initiatives and ASU programs, projects and experts on stages for conferences at Sustainable Brands, GreenBiz, AASHE, Second Nature, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, US Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Net Impact. In 2016, Jason was recognized by his peers with the Dedication Award from ASU Knowledge Enterprise Development, the university’s research and innovation hub.
Prior to this position, Jason served as the special advisor to the Dean of the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts where he managed advisory boards and institute-wide initiatives including the 2012 Emerge conference, the 50th anniversary celebration of The Design School and the 2009 public launch of the institute. He started his career at ASU in 2007 as the coordinator of the Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory, an urban design and thought center.
Before joining ASU, Jason was the director of communications and events for the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona. He also worked for ten years in television and internet broadcasting, working for companies such as Viacom, Disney and Sony Entertainment. Jason is an avid cyclist and record collector, and has contributed articles to the Phoenix New Times, The NL Worst, a satirical baseball blog, and The Book and Film Globe.