Hannah was born in Bath, England, and grew up in Miami, Florida. In 2006 she completed her B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, where she focused on environmental and development economics and French. Following her studies abroad in Madagascar and Paris, where she focused on microfinance regulation, and after reading Paul Hawken's book The Ecology of Commerce, she became interested in environmental economics. Upon her return to Northwestern she completed a thesis on freshwater markets in Chile and Australia. Her primary interests include market-based environmental policies, water rights, environmental law, and corporate reform. Hannah is currently living in Dakar, Senegal with her boyfriend, Alex, an MC and Fulbright scholar of Muslim youth movements.