Hannah is an Anne Kantor Fellow at The Australia Institute, Australia’s leading progressive public policy think tank, where she is researching climate and energy policy. Hannah is a former research Fellow and alum of New York University Abu Dhabi, where she leveraged geospatial data to study climate impacts. She aspires to work at the intersection between research and policy to aid our transition towards a low-carbon economy and climate resilient future.
Q. What opportunities have you pursued since graduating?
Since graduating, I’ve held three research fellowships. What I’ve appreciated most about working in shorter-term positions is gaining a macro-level view of environmental research and advocacy.
My first fellowship was with NYU Abu Dhabi to conduct independent research. I spent a year examining the impact of drought on Australian elections. It was a deep-dive into the academic research process, with a ton of re-drafting and re-coding, and set a strong foundation for rigorous analysis.
The second fellowship was a joint-position between a Canadian non-profit and Data-Driven EnviroLab. Even though the position was entirely remote, I really enjoyed connecting with my cohort of fellows and learned to work across organisations and translate research into accessible media.
I’m now starting a fellowship at a public policy think tank in Australia. I’ll be focusing on Australian climate and energy policy and in the words of the Australia Institute, hope to produce “research that matters”.
Q. How have you stayed connected with NYU Abu Dhabi and the UAE?
Even though I left Abu Dhabi in August 2020, I’m still there in spirit (and Zoom calls). I’ve been collaborating with the Center for Global Sea Level Change on grant proposals and research to do with sea-level rise and coastal adaptation in the UAE. I’ve also had the chance to develop the Geopolitics & Ecology of Himalayan Water with eARThumanities and am amazed by how much it has grown. This semester, I’ll also be on the advisory board of a climate action conference led by NYUAD undergrads, and am excited to see what current students are working on.
Beyond the university, I continue to serve as a UAE Ambassador for Nature with Emirates Nature-WWF. We’re in our “Inspire” stage to develop our own events and projects, so I’ve been collaborating with the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi on an air quality awareness campaign. Lastly, I’m part of the first ever UAE Climate Change Research Network, which is working across universities and government to advance climate data collection and policy-relevant research.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for an in-person visit to Abu Dhabi soon!
