Hannah San Sebastian

Hannah San Sebastian is a recent graduate of Harvard Kennedy School, where she earned a Master in Public Policy with a concentration in business and government policy and a certificate in management, leadership, and decision sciences. Her academic and professional experience has centered on state and local government, economic development, and community engagement.

During her time at HKS, Hannah served as a research assistant at the Harvard Growth Lab and was selected as both a Taubman Transition Term Fellow with the mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina, and a Rappaport Public Policy Fellow at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development. These experiences fueled her passion for partnering with state and local governments to design data-driven policies that expand economic opportunity and support thriving communities.

Prior to graduate school, Hannah taught English in Madrid for two years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and French literature from Tufts University.

Initial Fellowship Focus: The fellow will help strengthen cross-sector coordination and the use of real-time data to support preventive, evidence-based strategies for reducing gun violence. The work will aim to improve both public safety outcomes and residents’ perceptions of safety while developing a scalable model for addressing other complex, cross-cutting challenges.