About Hannah O. Brown

Hannah O. Brown is a first year graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Journalism at the University of Florida. Hannah received a Bachelor’s from New College of Florida in Psychology. She was a college fellow at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, where she studied ethics and new media approaches in journalism.

Hannah began her professional journalism career working as a freelance writer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2010. In 2012, she became a full-time reporter, covering the county and city government beats for the Lake City Reporter. Hannah currently works part-time at the Gainesville Sun and teaches biology at the University of Florida.

Hannah believes in the power of sharing perspectives. She hopes to have success writing, teaching and investigating cultural phenomena in her future. In an ideal world, Hannah would rather ditch the dollar and use ideas as currency.

For more on her professional history: Hannah's Curriculum Vitae

Interspecies communication

Hannah has a passion for community building and this interest spans across species. As an undergraduate student, Hannah participated in cognitive research projects on chimpanzees, manatees, dolphins, lemurs, dogs and fiddler crabs. She spent several months conducting research on a family of chimpanzees that speak ASL at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in Ellensburg, Washington. Hannah is interested in discourse concerning interspecies communication. She discusses these ideas daily with her pitbull puppy Banjo and cat Consuelo. She hopes to one-day publish her research and ideas in this field.

Cooking Cajun

Hannah loves to cook southern food with Cajun zest. She enjoys throwing decadent dinner parties that are dominated by large pots of bubbling grease and grills covered in seared meat. Hannah's interest in food is rooted in the way it brings people together. She hopes to continue using food to build community and possibly to one-day own her own restaurant.

Life on the water

Hannah grew up in a small North Florida coastal town, sailing with her family on their 32' steel sloop, Toadsabout. She has a deep connection to the earth and an appreciation for the intricacy of the natural world. She hopes to spend more time on the water in the future, traveling with her brother and sister-in-law on their catamaran, Agua Viva, as the vessel makes her first voyage around the globe. Follow Agua Viva's adventures at Humans and Oceans.

For more on Hannah's creative works, check out her blog at hannahobrown.wordpress.com