Hannah Simpson is an advocate and activist promoting transgender literacy and awareness in everyday life. Her writing and work have been featured in Huffington Post, The Guardian, Refinery29, MarieClaire.com, the Advocate, the Jewish Times of Baltimore, and the Times of Israel. Hannah’s background in the mainstream and Jewish queer communities informs her voice as a woman of faith when speaking about the beautiful and God-given diversity of gender identity.

 

Hannah was born in New Jersey, where both her parents still reside and where she attended public school. Hannah received her BS in biomedical engineering in 2008 from Boston University, having completed a 4+1 year degree and full-time co-op program. She went on to work for the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory at Brandeis University, and now resides in New York City.

Hannah Simpson has been featured as a guest commentator for trans perspectives on MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry show, and on Fox 5 (WNYW) Good Day New York. This May, Hannah interviewed celebrities live from the red carpet at the 2017 GLAAD Media Awards in New York City for LGBTQ Nation.

 

Hannah is active in her local Jewish communities as a congregant, organizing-committee member, sermon writer, and volunteer, and also lends her time to work with Jewish LGBTQ youth. She has helped bring over one hundred young Jewish adults to Israel, having staffed three seasons of Birthright Israel so far, leading buses specifically for LGBTQ self-identified participants. Hannah believes in the power of visibility as a transgender woman to help others questioning themselves. She hopes that by not hiding her past, she might inspire others to stop postponing their futures.