Hannah James was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. From a young age, she felt called to do social justice and advocacy work. Hannah has been living in Asheville since 2012 when she began studying sociology and economics at UNCA. While in school, Hannah was hired as the manager of a federally funded local food research project based in the UNCA Department of Economics, where she gained invaluable management, budgeting, and organizational experience while developing a growing passion for research. In 2014, she became a co-founder of Girls Rock Asheville, a nonprofit music and social justice education summer camp for girls and trans youth. She currently serves as Treasurer on Girls Rock Asheville’s Board of Directors. In 2016, Hannah completed an original undergraduate research project titled “Community Engagement in Place-Based Social and Economic Development: A Case Study of The Wild Ramp,” which she has presented at multiple conferences. It is due to be published in NCUR’s Fall 2016 journal. Hannah graduated from UNCA in May of 2016 and was ecstatic to be hired a month later as the Tzedek Social Justice Fellow at The Center for Diversity Education. Hannah is passionate about using education, advocacy, and mixed research methodologies to dismantle systems of oppression. When she isn’t working or volunteering at local nonprofits, Hannah is an avid thrift shopper, animal snuggler, and her two younger sisters’ biggest fan.
