Hannah Gallo comes to us as a recent graduate of Union Theological Seminary.  A life-long Unitarian Universalist, Hannah was dedicated and raised in the First Parish of Concord, Massachusetts.  She grew up going to summer camp in Maine, canoe-camping, doing ballet, and writing letters to her favorite feminist magazine “New Moon.”  As a teenager, Hannah went to the Maine Coast Semester in Wiscasset, ME for a semester of high school where she lived and learned about food justice and farming before heading off to Oberlin College for her undergraduate degree.

At Oberlin, Hannah helped to found the Prison Justice Project and was active with Students for a Free Palestine.  She interned with the People’s Law Office in Chicago, played a year of field hockey, and took a lot of film classes. After Oberlin, Hannah moved back to the Boston area to be close to family where she worked with New Profit Inc (a venture philanthropy fund), made a community of friends who like to cook and play trivia, and helped her discern her call to ministry.  She headed to Union in the fall of 2015 for a profound three years of graduate school.  She loved Union for its racial and religious diversity–there she took communion for the first time, got familiar with the Bible, and read a lot of Christian social ethics.

While at Union, Hannah was the Treasurer of the Student Senate, taught eighth grade after-school, worked in the Admissions office, was a peer ministry group leader, and worked at a homeless shelter for LGBTQ youth.  However, the majority of her time outside of classes was spent at the Bedford Hills Women’s Prison where she taught a college class, tutored, and helped with administration of the college program.  This May, Hannah was awarded the Charles Augustus Briggs Award, given annually to a member of the graduating class at any degree level who, in the judgment of a faculty committee, has best demonstrated the qualities of conscience, commitment, and courage as exemplified in the life and work of Charles Augustus Briggs.

Hannah is thrilled to be serving as the incoming intern minister for UUCWC.  She lives with her fiancee and their cat in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia.

We welcome Hannah to UUCWC on Sunday, August 12th!