Hannah Bird

Hannah brings a very varied background to her research, having worked as a teacher in several countries, gained experience in public relations and lobbying, and practised as a lawyer. Throughout these diverse experiences, she has maintained her passion for humanitarianism through extensive volunteering, with a particular focus on refugees. She has led an English language teaching project and acted as a volunteer coordinator in Turkey, helped devise a lobbying strategy for a small NGO campaigning on immigration detention in the UK, and has done helpline and befriending roles.

She is currently preparing to embark on a further master's degree in economic development, and plans to continue her research on community organising techniques in the development and humanitarian sectors and how these techniques could be more widely applied. She has particular interests in urban development, urban migrant communities, and refugee and IDP camps. She is also interested in development generally in the Middle East and South Asia.

Hannah joined the IARAN because she shares its vision of an equitable and connected humanitarian ecosystem, and she wants to join the other fellows in sharing and developing practical ideas for achieving it.