Dr Jo Hawkins earned her PhD in history and consumer culture from the University of Western Australia in 2016, following Graduate Diplomas in Arts in 2011 and Advanced in 2012. Before returning to academia, she spent a decade in advertising and marketing for global companies such as TBWA Worldwide and Sony BMG Records. Drawn by the power of stories to inform, influence, and connect, she completed her doctoral thesis, 'Anzac for sale: the Gallipoli campaign and Anzac legend in Australian consumer culture 1915-2015,' examining the commercialization of national memory. During her PhD candidature in the discipline of History, she shared industry expertise with academia through writing, workshops, talks, and collaborative events like hackathons.

Dr Hawkins advanced to academia-industry bridging roles at UWA, joining the Innovation Quarter team shortly after its 2015 launch as Manager of the UWA Innovation Quarter within the Innovation and Industry Engagement team. She empowered researchers, students, and staff by building innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities, providing access to mentors, networks, funding, investment, and prototyping for new products and services. Achievements include supporting over 150 enterprising UWA projects, facilitating more than 750 training placements, and overseeing the launch of UWA's first innovation and coworking space, UWA IQX. In 2018, she participated in CSIRO's ON Innovation Accelerator with biotech startup Oximetic. Currently, she is Senior Manager, Translation and Implementation, at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). Her research interests encompass consumer culture, history and memory, tourism, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Key publications include the book Consuming Anzac: The History of Australia's Most Powerful Brand (UWA Publishing, 2018); 'Anzac for sale: consumer culture, regulation and the shaping of a Legend, 1915-21' (Australian Historical Studies, 2015); and 'What better excuse for a real adventure: History, Memory and Tourism on the Kokoda Trail' (Public History Review, 2013). She received the Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence (Arts, 2014) and recognition in Business News 40under40 (2021). Skilled in strategic planning, partnerships, project and stakeholder management, communication, and engagement, Dr Hawkins drives initiatives to unlock value in research and higher education as an award-winning writer and lecturer.

Professional Email: jo.hawkins@uwa.edu.au