About me
Hannah has served as the SC Access to Justice Commission’s executive director since June of 2019. She is a 2007 graduate of Wagner College in Staten Island, New York with a B.A., magna cum laude, in English and Spanish, and a 2013 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. After law school, Hannah clerked for South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Thomas A. Russo. For the five years prior to joining the Commission, she served as an assistant public defender in the Richland County (SC) Public Defender’s Office, where she defended indigent clients charged with drug offenses and other crimes and served as the defense liaison for the Richland County Drug Court Program.
As Executive Director of the SC Access to Justice Commission, Hannah co-wrote the Commission’s inaugural Justice Gap Report, oversaw the research and release of South Carolina’s first-ever Statewide Civil Legal Needs Assessment, and works with academic access to justice researchers in South Carolina to make their research accessible to legal aid and policy advocates. She also developed the South Carolina Legal Resource Finder, an interactive web-based app that connects users with legal aid organizations and self-help resources based on their income eligibility and specific legal problem.
Hannah is a 2023 recipient of the Silver Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law and the SC Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award. She is passionate about expanding access to our legal system for South Carolinians living in poverty.
