About Hannah

As a settler aloha ʻāina in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, bioremediation ecologist, community advocate, and co-founder of both the Maui Bioremediation Group (MBRG) and EarthRM, Hannah Hartmann is dedicated to advocating for systemic change and a remediated future. Hannah is also a Sustainable Agriculture Instructor at Kūlani Correctional Facility, equipping justice system impacted individuals with the education and hands-on skills necessary to reintegrate through ʻāina based work.

Originally from the traditional Tongva territory (Los Angeles, California), Hannah Hartmann, like many others growing up in the area, was exposed to significant environmental pollution. Her personal experience with pollutant-related illnesses, along with witnessing several cancer-related deaths in her immediate family, inspired her to seek solutions for these issues. From the age of 16, Hannah understood that multidimensional solutions were necessary to help her community and others affected by contamination-related health problems. This is when Hannah began researching nature-based solutions and dedicated her life to environmental remediation and regeneration, because, as has been recognized by Indigenous peoples around the world, healing land and water means healing ourselves.

Hannah pursued her studies at Cal Poly Humboldt (Wiyot homelands), where she earned a BS in Environmental Science and Management with a focus on Ecological Restoration, along with minors in Wildland Soil Science, Fire Ecology, and Geospatial Analysis. During her undergraduate years, she worked as a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and co-conducted research on mycofiltration, using native fungi to remediate coliform bacteria in wastewater. Hannah later earned her MS in Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science (TCBES) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, where she collaborated with Wayne Tanaka and the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi to research and advocate for bioremediation solutions for the contamination crisis at Kapūkakī (Red Hill). 

In addition to her work in technical bioremediation research and community advocacy, Hannah co-founded Maui Bioremediation Group (MBRG) and EarthRM, where she has represented MBRG as a lead researcher at post-fire inter-agency meetings on Maui, the 2023 Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement Conference, and as a bioremediation expert for the Maui County Council. Currently, Hannah also teaches Sustainable Agriculture and Greenhouse Construction at Kūlani Correctional Facility. 

Every day, Hannah aligns herself with the ongoing fight for life, working scientifically and systemically to ensure clean water and soil are available and accessible for current and future generations. E ola.