Hannah Brenner is the first Executive Director of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, a new initiative designed to confront the barriers that stand in the way of women’s advancement in the legal profession. Under her leadership, the Center’s members will advocate for significant and lasting changes both in law and in the practice of law.

She came to UT last Fall from the University of Oklahoma, where she worked as the Director of Women’s Leadership Programs at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center. There, her work focused on addressing the historical under-representation of women in politics and public service. Under her leadership, the Center facilitated two major statewide programs, the annual National Education for Women’s Leadership conference, and the Pipeline to Politics initiative. At OU, Hannah also taught in the Department of Women’s Studies; her courses included, among others, Women and the Law and Women Creating Social Change. In 2006, her course, Gender, Power & Leadership, received recognition and funding as a prestigious University Presidential Dream Course, incorporating special guest lecturers such as former Vermont Governor Madeline Kunin, and Former New Jersey Governor, Christine Todd Whitman.

Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Hannah received her BA from the University of Iowa in Women’s Studies and American Studies. As an undergraduate, she served on the Department of Women’s Studies Faculty Steering Committee, working alongside faculty in the development of a PhD program in the discipline. She furthered her academic interests in women’s issues as a student in the Antioch College Women’s Studies Program Abroad. Hannah completed her law degree at University of Iowa College of Law where she received recognition for academic achievement and public interest work. Throughout law school, she was involved with the creation of the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice, and continued to play an active volunteer role in the anti-sexual violence movement.

Hannah’s research interests include law, politics, activism, and women’s rights. Her professional background includes serving as executive director of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice and director of the Women’s Outreach Center at the University of Oklahoma. In 2004, after her volunteer grant writing resulted in the award of significant grant funding from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Hannah returned to the Appleseed Law Center for one year to coordinate the new Oklahoma Bullying Prevention Initiative, a coalition of nonprofit state organizations working to influence policy and ultimately reduce school bullying/harassment and its related problems like poor academic performance, high risk of future incarceration and suicide. She is frequently called on to provide consultation to and engage in grant-writing for nonprofit organizations.

Hannah resides in Austin with her husband Adam, a professor whose work involves the merger of science and art, and their three children, Isaac, Aidan, and Willow.