All in the family. Hanna comes from a maternal line of social workers: Her grandmother worked as a psychotherapist and her mother in children’s services and psychiatric hospitals. But after being matched with an unusual internship with the office of state Sen. Sharif Street as an undergraduate student—helping craft legislation on topics as varied as cannabis and life without parole—Hanna developed a passion for “macro” social work, a discipline that involves improving policies and systems. 

Buoyed by stellar grades at Temple, Hanna was accepted into an advanced standing master of social work program at the University of Pennsylvania. Despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic right at graduation, Hanna quickly obtained a job in the nonprofit sector, where she worked to support individuals quarantined in hotels via a City of Philadelphia program.

At the age of just 24, Hanna took on massive responsibilities when she became incident response coordinator for Philadelphia in 2021. Although she says she faced some skepticism over her age when she began, she’s proven her ability over five years. Hanna has coordinated support efforts for high-profile events like Afghan repatriation in 2021, the arrival of buses of immigrants sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, and a dangerously cold “Code Blue” stretch last winter in which Hanna worked for 42 consecutive days to stand up and support warming sites across the city.

Cherry and white, through and through. Hanna literally wears her Temple pride on her sleeve: a tattoo on her left forearm reads Perseverantia Vincit, or “Perseverance Conquers,” the university’s motto. It’s a guiding principle that has served her well as she faces the toughest of situations.