Hannah Gears, MSW, is a senior program officer at the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). In this role, she supports CHCS initiatives related to child and family health, including Accelerating Child Health Transformation where she is responsible for facilitating meaningful engagement between the project’s family advisory committee and pediatric practice sites, as well as developing content for the learning community. She also supports CHCS’ partnership with the New Jersey Office of Resilience through the implementation of the NJ ACEs Action Plan. Hannah provides technical assistance and programmatic support for a variety of other child health quality improvement initiatives for state agencies, policymakers, and pediatric medical practices.

Prior to joining CHCS, Hannah served as a social worker at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in the Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs where she provided coordinated care alongside a pediatrician, nurse care coordinator, and community health worker. Hannah completed her clinical internships for her MSW program with the ELECT Program for pregnant and parenting teens supported by the School District of Philadelphia and at the Center for the Urban Child at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Hannah also has a wealth of project management experience from her time at the U.S. Department of State in the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement where she monitored grants and contracts dedicated to removal of landmines and explosive remnants of war in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Hannah holds a master’s in social work with a health care specialization from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Temple University.

In her free time, Hannah enjoys walking her poorly behaved dog named Hamilton, driving up and down I-95 to visit her friends and family, planning her next international adventure, and making dessert a daily habit.