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Understanding the Impact of Systems: Getting to know Rosana Hanif

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Our newest team member, Rosana Hanif, was born to two Guyanese immigrants and raised in Queens, New York, one of the most diverse places in the country. Throughout her life, Rosana was inspired by her parents’ courage and sacrifice to pick up their lives and immigrate to a foreign country. Knowing the challenges that her parents had to overcome has always motivated Rosana, even though it has taken time for her to realize her goals and trajectory. She is now a proud first generation Bachelor’s and Master’s graduate, with a passion for social work and working with youth. 

Rosana decided to pursue higher education at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. There, she worked with the John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity formerly known as John Jay’s Prisoner Reentry Institute. This was the first time that she worked with people who have been through the criminal justice system. Through this experience, she learned about how big of an impact it has on people’s lives and noticed the nearly insurmountable hurdles that they have to get over. Rosana decided to major in Law and Society, with a minor in Anthropology to better understand how the systems that run society treat and impact the people who move through them. 

 Rosana wanted to better understand how the systems that run society treat and impact the people who move through them. 

Additionally, Rosana completed a fellowship with the Pinkerton Foundation, where she discovered her passion for working with youth. After this fellowship, she decided to pursue clinical social work so that she could take the next step in working with young people. Rosana joined the Silberman School of Social Work to get her masters degree, with her studies accumulating in a thesis on restorative justice for young offenders. Although she understands the importance of structural changes, she also values the hands-on, active engagement approach. She hopes to obtain her licensure and eventually move into social work, becoming the first point of contact for young people in the system. However, before that, Rosana is exploring other ways to impact and help causes that she cares about. 

Rosana joins Humanity in Action at a time of development and change. As someone who has always hit the ground running, she is now working on multiple projects, from organizing conferences to communicating with Fellows. She will also be heading the Admissions process for 2022.