Our Team
Henri Hammond-Paul
Fellow
Henri is a Fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change and the GovLab, where he specializes in civic engagement and technology to address pressing public challenges, including environmental and climate change issues.
His work includes supporting AI for Impact, and its InnovateMA co-op program in partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Through AI for Impact, students use artificial intelligence and human-centered design to deliver cutting-edge projects that solve public sector problems and improve lives.
Prior to the Burnes Center, Henri served as a senior advisor at the New Jersey Department of Health, focusing on strengthening healthcare infrastructure and resilience across the state. He played a pivotal role in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Henri worked on understanding the effects of climate change on emergencies, developing strategies to enhance the state’s resilience to natural disasters. In his role at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, Henri was instrumental in developing and implementing strategies to increase the institution’s resilience against both manmade and natural shocks and stresses. His work there was particularly centered on understanding the impacts of climate change on emergency scenarios and building resilience to natural disasters, ensuring that the medical center was prepared for a range of climate-related and man-made challenges. With the United Nations World Food Programme, Henri managed and supported humanitarian assistance and food security projects in regions affected by natural disasters and conflicts, always with an eye toward sustainable and environmentally conscious practices.Henri’s passion for public service traces back to his early career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay, where he engaged in grassroots projects with a focus on sustainable development and community empowerment. He holds a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and earned his BA in English from Washington and Lee University.