Andra Hansen
“Excellence Up and Down”
Excellence occurs when who we honestly are lines up with what we choose to do.
Andra is a faculty member in the Communication Department at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she has been teaching for eight years. Andra has designed persuasion, media law, moral reasoning and advocacy classes, and has received an excellence in teaching award. Prior to coming to BYU-I, Andra spent 13 years teaching writing, business, and professional communication and literature classes at Idaho State University. Her areas of expertise include political rhetoric, persuasion, mediation, negotiation, advocacy, and critical thinking. She is currently a lead faculty member of the Organizational Communication and Advocacy emphasis within the Communication Department at BYU-I.
Andra strongly believes that what is taught in the classroom is primarily valuable to the degree that it meets needs and provides insights applicable to everyday living. Her natural interests in people and language have led her to seek out a diverse range of professional experiences, including as a consultant and trainer for the Transatlantic Negotiation School of Business in Lagos, Nigeria; as a writing instructor for Native American students on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation; and as a legislative correspondent on Capitol Hill. Andra has an acute understanding of strategic communication within business, political, and social contexts.
Because she is passionate about learning, Andra pursues opportunities to gain further understanding of the relationship between communication, people, and problem solving. She has recently completed a Harvard Law School negotiation training and attended educational conferences focused on experiential learning and on critical thinking.
Andra is devoted to using communication skills to foster meaningful dialogue, promote peaceful resolutions to conflicts, maximize value for all parties involved in an exchange, and create safe, positive environments within which individuals in organizational and family contexts have the opportunity to thrive.