HI, I'M HANNAH!

ABOUT ME

I recently graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Political Science. I love thinking about the ways that technology affects society, from culture and communication to governing and governance to the structures that it both perpetuates and challenges. In today’s world, technology has so much power, and with that power comes the potential for good but also the potential for serious consequences. I want to spend my time thinking through these outcomes, challenging the notion that innovation for innovation’s sake is inherently good, and finding ways to use and create tech that benefit others and prioritize human rights.

On a more personality-centric note, I firmly believe in the power of humanity and like to think that I approach life with a focused curiosity. I love working in teams and getting the opportunity to discuss, learn, and bounce ideas off of each other. I place a high value on perspective, both in terms of trying to see from different perspectives and others challenging my own perspective. Because of this, I want the driving motivation behind my work to be people--helping people, interacting with people, and understanding people. In my free time, I love watching sports (especially women’s soccer and gymnastics!), trying new restaurants and coffee shops, journaling, going to shows, and going on random long walks and seeing what I discover.

Currently, I am seeking full-time roles that allow me to do the above, such as working in technology policy or at tech company that prioritizes social good. I am also interested in working in the nonprofit sector to help create a more equitable and just society. Feel free to download my resume and/or scroll down to view a more in-depth version. I would also love for you to contact me with any questions or opportunities that you may have!

Education

University of Pittsburgh

B.S. in Computer Science, B.A. in Politial Science •April 2020•Pitsburgh, PA

Graduated Summa Cum Laude (3.98 GPA); Phi Beta Kappa
Completed Coursework:
Computer Science: Algorithm Implementation, Data Structures, The Future of Cities, Introduction to Cloud Computing, Applied Cryptography and Network Security, Software Quality Assurance, Introduction to Systems Software, Computer Organization and Assembly Language, Intermediate Programming Using Java, Introduction to Computer Programming, Discrete Structures for Computer Science, Formal Methods in Computer Science, Introduction to Operating Systems
Political Science: American Politics Capstone (Mass Incarceration, part of Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program), Institute of Politics Internship and Seminar (interned with Pittsburgh City Councilmember Corey O'Connor), Politics of Food, Land, and Sustainability, Law and Politics, Honors American Politics, Political Theory, Comparative Politics, World Politics, Research Methods in Political Science, Race, Gender, and Politics
Miscellaneous: Topics in Applied Statistics (Principles of Data Science) Applied Regression, Conversational Spanish, U.S. Latino Literature, Honors Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory, Literature of the Americas, Introduction to Islamic Civilization, Mass Communication Process
Course Highlights:
As my political science capstone course, I had the opportunity to be a part of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Every week, 16 University of Pittsburgh students drove two hours to State Correctional Institution Somerset, where we met with 16 incarcerated students and learned side-by-side about mass incarceration. This course is by far my favorite and most influential course I have ever taken. While we had readings and assignments, most learning came from conversations with my incarcerated classmates, hearing and discussing first hand how the criminal justice system impacts their lives as well as their families and communities.
Throughout the course, I extensively researched the experience of incarcerated laborers within prison and the prison-industrial complex as a whole, writing my political science capstone paper on the current state of prison labor in the United States. You can read my capstone paper here. Being a part of this course also led to my involvement in Pittsburgh's District Attorney race as well as an increased passion for changing the criminal justice system in the United States.

Another of my favorite courses that I took was The Future of Cities, a course offered through the Computer Science department that looked at the implications of the ways in which technology is used in urban environments. Through this course not only did I get to learn a lot about the consequences of how we are currently using technology within cities, but I also got to do in-depth research on the use and misuse of predictive policing technology and facial recognition technology. I was able to translate this in-class research into action by writing a policy memo regarding facial recognition technology as part of my internship with Pittsburgh's City Council.

National University of Singapore

Continuation of Bachelor's Degree as Exchange Student •Spring 2019•Singapore, Singapore

Completed Coursework:
Introduction to Computer Networks, Public Administration in Singapore, Interactive Storytelling

Pine-Richland High School

Valedictorian of Class of 2016•June 2016•Gibsonia, PA

Experience

Office of City Councilmember Corey O'Connor

Intern• January 2020 - April 2020•Pittsburgh, PA

This past semester, I interned 9 hours per week at the Office of City Councilmember Corey O'Connor through Pitt's Institute of Politics Internship & Seminar program. Through this internship, I engaged with constituents to address any concerns and answer questions that they had. Additionally, I wrote policy memos to provide a greater understanding of legislation and issues being discussed. I also attended hearings and meetings to gain a better understanding of the role and powers of local government.

Internet Education Foundation

Congressional Affairs Intern• May 2019 - August 2019•Washington, D.C.

The summer after my junior year, I was a Congressional Affairs Intern at the Internet Education Foundation. Through this role, I primarily worked with the Congressional App Challenge (CAC), a nation-wide challenge hosted by the House of Representatives to promote computer science education. I created an Alumni Advisory Board and Challenge Ambassadors Program to help leverage the over 10,000 alumni that the CAC has. I helped see the project through from start to finish, including the initial conception of the idea, program development, applications, selection, the creation of toolkits for alumni, and next steps to ensure the longevity of the program. We held a thorough application and interview process to select a board of seven college-aged alumni and 40 high-school- and middle-school-aged Challenge Ambassadors. You can view more about the alumni program here. Additionally, I did policy research on the effects of Artificial Intelligence setting wages for workers. I also worked to build relationships with partner organizations and Congressional offices to help promote the CAC.

Palantir Technologies

Forward Deployed Software Engineer Intern• June 2018 - August 2018•Washington, D.C.

The summer after my sophomore year, I was a Forward Deployed Software Engineer Intern at Palantir Technologies. Through this role, I worked on a mobile deployment with a federal agency. More specifically, I worked with React Native and Java to implement new features in a mobile application. I also had the opportunity to go on site and meet directly with our client. At these meetings, I discussed technical specifications of the product and provided demos of the feature I was developing. Additionally, another intern and I placed in the top three of our office's hack week. We developed a Chrome Extension called Level, which anonymizes candidate data with the goal of minimizing unconscious bias during the recruiting process.

Carnegie Mellon University Institute for Software Research

Undergraduate Researcher• May 2017 - November 2017•Pittsburgh, PA

The summer after my freshman year, I was one of only 24 students selected nationwide to participate in Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Software Engineering (REUSE), funded by the National Science Foundation. Through my role as an Undergraduate Researcher within the Institute for Software Research, I worked on a research project entitled "Comparing Development Practices in npm Subcommunities." The goal of this project is to understand how practices propagate throughout open source software ecosystems, particularly Node Package Manager (npm). I wrote programs using Python to automatically mine software repositories and extract data from JSON files. Additionally, I used community detection techniques to identify subcommunities in npm and visualized these communities using the network analysis and visualization software Gephi. At the end of REUSE, I created and presented a poster to faculty and researchers from the CMU School of Computer Science, communicating in a professional manner and responding to challenging questions about my research. I also served as the Co-Social Coordinator for the REUSE program, where I organized weekly social events to engage fellow participants in the program, helped to acclimate them to Pittsburgh, and created group cohesiveness. I continued my research over the following semester.
You can view my final poster here.

Incline Consulting Group

President• August 2019 - April 2020•Pittsburgh, PA

Incline Consulting Group provides pro-bono consulting to nonprofits in the Pittsburgh area. As President, I was responsible for planning and executing the operations of the organization with over 60 members and 10 nonprofit clients per semester. I also led our student executive board to secure nonprofit clients, recruit new members, train new members and project managers, and host final presentations. I previously worked to create a board of alumni to provide resources and mentorship to our student consultants, developed standard operating procedures for the organization, and coordinated our rebranding from Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations to Incline Consulting Group.
Previously, as Project Manager, I led a team of five peers to provide strategic consulting to the Children's Sickle Cell Foundation (CSCF Kids). Working directly with the client, we performed a needs-based assessment to narrow the scope of our semester-long project. Throughout the course of the semester, we improved CSCF Kids' website and social media pages as well as developed a social media strategy. I also served as a consultant for Focus on Renewal, where I worked in a team to redesign their website and develop a volunteer ambassadors program.
You can learn more about Incline Consulting Group on our website.

Activities

Girls Who Code

Facilitator• October 2017 - December 2018•Pittsburgh, PA

As a facilitator, I led weekly sessions at a local high school to create an open and collaborative space for girls to learn how to code and introduce them to female role models within the technology sector. We teach the basics of programming and scripting languages to serve as the basis for a social impact project. This past year, we taught web development, and our students were able to make a website highlighting ethical clothing brands as alternatives to companies that have poor labor practices.

Lisa Middleman for District Attorney

Volunteer• October 2019 - November 2019•Pittsburgh, PA

As a volunteer for Lisa Middleman's campaign for District Attorney, I canvassed around the Pittsburgh area and represented the campaign at community events. I also volunteered on election day at a local polling place to ensure voters were aware of their options in the District Attorney race.

University Honors College

Peer Mentor and Ambassador• January 2017 - April 2020•Pittsburgh, PA

As a peer mentor, during orientation I provided support and activities to a group of freshmen in the honors college to help them acclimate to the university and become familiar with the resources the UHC has to offer. Throughout the semester, I followed-up with my mentees on a regular basis to ensure that they were adjusting to college. As a UHC Ambassador, I served as a liaison between the UHC and prospective students to understand the UHC and its role and to encourage them to choose Pitt. Additionally, through this role I spoke with current students at Pitt to promote awareness of the UHC.

Strong Women, Strong Girls

Mentor• September 2016 - December 2017•Pittsburgh, PA

I worked in a team of mentors to empower girls in 3rd to 5th grade in under-resourced communities by teaching them about strong women throughout history. Through this role, I sought to inspire confidence within my mentees by providing them with strong leadership and communication skills and by helping them understand that they can do anything that they set their minds to.

She Innovates Hackathon

Mentor Recruiter• October 2017 - January 2018•Pittsburgh, PA

I recruited mentors to help students complete projects at She Innovates, Pitt's all-women hackathon.

Honors

Nordenberg Leadership Scholar

University of Pittsburgh

I was one of ten students selected to receive a full academic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh on the basis of demonstrating excellent leadership skills, innovative thinking, intellectual curiosity, and community involvement. Through this scholarship, I completed an extensive outside of the classroom curriculum for individual development during my time at Pitt and participated in various career and leadership focused programs.

David C. Frederick Public Service Internship Award

University of Pittsburgh

I was one of five students selected by Pitt Honors College to receive full funding to pursue a public service internship.

J.P. Morgan Hack for Social Good

My team and I won the Hack for Social Good prize at the She Innovates Hackathon our of 19 projects for our app, Moodlet. Our app focuses on mental health and mindfulness, providing a safe space to users to explore and document their emotions. You can check out Moodlet in action here.

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

I have received full funding to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing twice. During my sophomore year, I was one of ten students chosen by the University of Pittsburgh Computer Science Department to receive funding for the conference, and during my junior year I was sponsored by Palantir Technologies.

Skills

Technical Skills:
I am familiar with Java and Python and have experience with React Native, Javascript, C, R, HTML, and CSS.