Dr. Tasnia Hannan

Biography

Tasnia Alam Hannan is a Lecturer at the Business School, UNSW, where she teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses on social entrepreneurship, business social impact, and social impact investment. With a decade of cross-sectoral experience spanning public policy, law, finance, and social innovation, she is dedicated to advancing social and economic justice through interdisciplinary approaches. Formerly, she served as Associate Director at NSW Treasury, where she played a key role in shaping economic strategy and leading significant funding allocations for social infrastructure programs. Tasnia is also the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the Arise Foundation, an award-winning organization that supports women survivors of domestic violence and financial abuse, helping them achieve employment pathways and financial independence. Her research focuses on gender lens investing, Islamic social finance, social enterprise, and the intersection of social impact and human rights law. Currently pursuing her PhD in Law at Western Sydney University, she is developing a rights-based, decolonial framework for gender lens investing that centers the lived experiences of refugee women in Australia. In 2023, she was recognized as one of the 40 Influential Asian Australians and serves as a Non-Executive Director and advisor on policy social impact initiatives.

Research Interests