Honor Society® member
Hanna Endale
- International Law and Justice
- Class of 2027
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Member since May 2026
About
Ethiopian human rights lawyer and co-founder of Ethiopian Young Women's Voice Ethiopia's first national advocacy platform for young women, with 70 members across all regions and formal engagement at the UN CSW66 and African Union levels. Incoming Vivian Leitner, Global South Scholar at Fordham Law School (LL.M. in International Law and Justice, 2026–2027), full tuition. Former Humanitarian Project Officer at Plan International Ethiopia (ECHO-funded, 4-partner consortium), Legal Officer at KMI Ethiopia, and Public Relations Officer at NMWEO. My work spans gender justice, refugee and displacement law, IHL, and access to justice for conflict-affected communities across Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. I also build AI-powered tools for reading, discovery, and research narrative filmmaking at the intersection of technology, law, and human dignity.
Education
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Fordham University
Law LLM
2026 – Present
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Bahirdar University
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)
2019 – 2024
Honors and awards
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First Class with Distinction
Graduated with academic distinction in the LL.B. program at Bahirdar University, Ethiopia (2019–2024), completed during active armed conflict in the region. Thesis: Advocacy Strategies for Minimum Wage Intersecting Labour Rights and Social Justice
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Best Orator
Awarded both distinctions at the ICRC Moot Court competition (2023), competing in international humanitarian law. One of two awards given across all competing teams.
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Vivian Leitner Global South Scholar
Full-tuition merit scholarship awarded by Fordham Law School's Leitner Center for International Law and Justice (2026), granted to exceptional candidates from the Global South pursuing the LL.M. in International Law and Justice. Competitive international
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Girls Take Over: Acting Chief Commissioner & Ambassador
Selected by Plan International Ethiopia to serve as Acting Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (2023) and Acting Ambassador of Germany to Ethiopia (2024) through the global Girls Take Over leadership initiative.
Goals and interests
- Career goal
International human rights lawyer and legal advocate for conflict-affected and displaced communities
- Graduate school interests
International humanitarian law, refugee and displacement law, transitional justice, access to justice for conflict-affected communities
- Outside the classroom
Music and dance :(daily rituals and, since my mother's dementia diagnosis, our primary shared language).
Movement as medicine: gym, walking in green spaces. Poetry, short stories, and ekphrastic creative writing.
Neuroscience and dementia caregiving.
AI-powered creative projects: building a bilingual reading companion app for Abrehot Library (ጧፍ/Taf) and researching synesthetic narrative filmmaking (Genesis project, in collaboration with Ethiopian animation studio Behager Lij). Reading at the intersection of law, technology, and human dignity.
Culinary exploration when traveling: I have a rule of always ordering something I've never tried before.
Experience
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Humanitarian Project Officer
Plan International Ethiopia
Jan 2025 – Aug 2025
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Public Relations Officer
New Millennium Women Empowerment Organization
Jan 2024 – Dec 2024
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egal Officer: Ethics & Compliance (Externship)
KMI Ethiopia
Jan 2024 – Jul 2024
Volunteering
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Girls Take Over : Acting Chief Commissioner (EHRC) & Acting Ambassador of Germany to Ethiopia
Plan International Ethiopia
Oct 2023 – Oct 2024
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Climate Justice Trainer
ActionAid Ethiopia
Apr 2021 – Oct 2022
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Co-Founder, Interim President & Youth Advocacy Ambassador
Ethiopian Young Women's Voice / She Leads Consortium
Mar 2021 – Nov 2024
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Delegate of Honour & Branch Founder
Model African Union Bahirdar
Mar 2020 – Oct 2022
Languages
- English (US) Fluent
Additional information
Organizations
