Hannah Melville-Rea

Hannah Melville-Rea is a PhD Candidate and Knight-Hennessy Scholar at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, pursuing an interdisciplinary degree in environment and resources. Committed to community-engaged research, Hannah collaborates with local partners to support flood resilience and insurance needs in underserved neighborhoods. She aspires to work at the intersection of science and policy to minimize the impact of climate hazards on frontline communities.

Raised in Osaka, Japan by parents who hail from Australia and New Zealand, Hannah developed an early interest in how different countries tackle natural disasters. Prior to starting her PhD, Hannah worked at the Australia Institute, an independent think tank, where she translated climate projections into community briefs about extreme heat and provided recommendations for Australia’s climate resilience strategy. With a passion for global climate policy, Hannah tracked Paris Agreement negotiations as a student delegate to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21), represented Japan at the G7 Youth Summit, and was named a UAE Ambassador for Nature. Hannah holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from New York University Abu Dhabi.