Hanna Junus

Hanna Junus is an early childhood policy analyst at the Buffett Institute. She joined the Institute in 2024 to support its expanding policy efforts, with a particular interest in building sustainable early childhood systems and holistic infrastructure to support equitable and high-quality services for underserved communities.

Prior to this role, Hanna was a research assistant for Sharon Lynn Kagan at the National Center for Children and Families. Through this work, she provided key research support to various national and international policies, and co-taught early childhood and education policy courses. Hanna simultaneously worked as the project coordinator for the national initiative Early Childhood Policy in Institutions of Higher Education. Her passion for early childhood policy began during her time as a universal preschool (UPK) CLASS observer at the New York City Division of Early Childhood Education, where she supported the UPK and 3-K program’s growth toward high-quality pedagogy.

Hanna has a master’s degree in education policy with a specialization in early childhood education and care from Teachers College, Columbia University.