Messages for Hanna
188 entries.
Shashank
from
New Delhi
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
10:17 am
Hanna I have not been in touch, but you have been in my thoughts from time to time. I'm not very expressive so pardon me for not reaching out earlier, but you and Marc have been guiding lights ever since we met at DSI. Your work was astonishing to me. I couldn't believe that someone was actually doing the work you did as a vocation.
I am perhaps very muted, too muted, in my expression and so let me take this opportunity to say I was overjoyed that there was work like yours happening. It kindled a hope in me that perhaps one day I could do something like this too, for my people here in India.
I feel a little more guilty now that I didn't reach out earlier and shared my admiration. I guess I was too much in my own head, and I can be clumsy with my words.
But I hope this message overcomes that.
I'm not much of a poem guy but there's one poem that has always been with me since I read the Hobbit and LOTR.
Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.
I hope this helps in some way. Love from India, Shashank
Roz Duffy
from
Philadelphia
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
9:37 am
I loved meeting and getting to know Hannah in Philadelphia in 2016. She spoke at a conference I helped organize and brought such incredible creative energy. I loved receiving a note from her after with a whimsical little drawing which you can see here. Realizing now how lucky I am to meet her in this life. Wishing Hannah a peaceful transition and infinite peace, love, and wonder.
Johanna Collins
from
Pittsburgh
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
9:05 am
Though close by, I am a friend from afar. Thank you Hanna, silly, serious, generous person- mind, body, spirit and soul. Your offering of connection has given me insight into how the path can be taken together. Your vulnerability provides me with intimacy I did not earn but that I honor with all the longing in me for freedom and healing. May these be yours as you pass through into the gentle light. Without ceasing may Love continue to surround and keep you and those you love.
Marijke Hecht
from
Pittsburgh
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
8:52 am
Dearest Hanna, Glad to have been in this world in these bodies at this same time as you. Glad I got the chance to go dancing with you that time. Hope to see you again someday. Maybe we’ll get to be running water together. Or maybe even stars. You are teaching me about letting go, a gift I’m trying to receive. May you let go with fierce love and grace. May your memory be a blessing. Xox M
Tanya Santos
from
Pretoria
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
8:00 am
Hanna, thank you for being such a bright, brilliant example of what a loving human can be. The creativity you unleashed, and the goodness you set in motion, will keep moving through all who love you. What a phenomenal, lodestar legacy you leave behind ❤️
Andres Marquez-Lara
from
valle de bravo, Mexico
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
6:49 am
Dear Marc and Hanna, we met almost a decade ago through Brian Hoffman with whom I did the AltMBA. I recalled we had a few wonderful conversations via zoom. Though I didn't get to know you either beyond those calls, to this day I recall the warm, calm, joyful feeling I felt when speaking to the two of you. I just want to thank you for bringing us into this very intimate moment, which our society often doesn't make public. I appreciate the intentionality that you are both bringing to this very sad, very human and very common transition that we will all experience at some point. With love and appreciation, Andres
Isabelle
from
Some place in Belgium
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
6:43 am
Dear Hanna,
We don't know each other. And yet.
Be well my friend.
From my heart and soul,
Beyond space and time,
Much much love to you.
Isabelle
Mary Kathleen Scully
from
Pittsburgh, PA
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
6:02 am
I have loved and cared about you, Hanna, from afar. Thank you for allowing me this privilege. I will remain forever moved by you.
Manjari
from
Amsterdam
wrote on January 30, 2026
at
4:04 am
Dear Hannah, being able to learn from you and Marc at CMU were one of the highlights of my education. Being able to see the world beyond design, with such empathy and compassion, only made me want to face the challenges of the world with more grace. Thank you for for being you, your never-ending courage, and for taking us along in your journey. Rest well.
Blair
from
Silver Spring, MD (by way of Pittsburgh)
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
11:25 pm
Hanna, I do not know what to write. Nothing feels right. I do not know you, but you are amazing You are my goals. Thank you for sharing yourself with us. I hope for smooth travel to your next destination. I have no real words of comfort, and for that I feel sad. You have provided comfort to so many including myself and solidified my final wishes. I want to go out on my own terms like you. Brave. You are leaving behind a legacy that will inspire so many people. Enjoy your loved ones that come to greet you. My hope for you is that you enjoy the final spark of joy that is said to be common. In my Dad's final days, he was thrilled to have regained his leg that was lost to amputation. He was proud to tell us that it was back. He felt whole and amazing for his final moments. I hope you experience that and all of the love so many people have for you. When the time comes, rest well. You are appreciated, you are loved, and you are beautiful inside and out.
Tina Calabro
from
Pittsburgh
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
11:02 pm
Dear Hanna,
You have come into my life off and on for many years — first through your beautiful writing, then through your transformative team building, then through your valiant journey through ALS. You always bring joy and a reminder to open one’s heart. Thank you for your friendship and for sharing your gifts with so many people.
Hilda Bezuidenhout
from
Swansea Heads, Australia
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
8:08 pm
Liefste Hanna
I have so many fond memories of our early years together growing up in Roos Street...throwing mud cakes at cars and getting in SO much trouble, walking each other home after play days, swimming in your pool, the skuimpies your mum used to bake in the form of our initials, watching Back to the Future over and over, the really big false teeth you wore to school once, pretending to be a new student. Wherever you went, you brought so much joy, and wherever you are going, they are lucky to have you. Thank you for being in my life. You will always be in my heart. I love you, I love you, I love you, my klein niggie en maatjie. xx
Ulu Mills
from
Wailuku, Maui
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
7:54 pm
As my career goes on, there are days where, in the peaks of tech's cruelty and inhumanity, I feel more like an accomplice than part of the solution. It's times like these that I more dearly hold the lessons you and Marc taught—that the pursuit of justice and love is never a futile act. Thank you for your unending pursuit—it will inspire me forever.
Mila Sanina
from
State College, Pa.
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
7:33 pm
Dear Hanna,
Thank you for all the beauty, courage and inspiration you brought into this brutal and at times unkind world. You made it better. You walked so lightly upon the earth, with encouraging us all to notice and pay attention what's around us. You fostered art in people and unfroze our hearts. Thank you for being such a generous giver. I will keep sharing your writing with my students. You're a class act.
I heard it's very beautiful over there. I know we will meet again.
I love you and thank you,
Mila Sanina
Dimeji
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
6:49 pm
Dear Hanna,
You are a ray of sunshine. Thank you for the laughs we shared and the conversations we had. Thank you for your enduring friendship. I will miss you terribly.
Stephanie Zhong
from
Los Angeles - Philadelphia
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
6:39 pm
Haiku for Hannah
Sister-spark of love
I felt the first time we met,
never dies, but flies.
Many feel the same
kinship love from you, for you,
this life and the next.
I hope you feel us,
a global embrace that lifts
you lightly to Peace.
Until we meet again, my sister and friend. Bless you and may you experience bliss over the rainbow bridge. You've left an indelible mark on me though we spent only a few days in-person. I love you, Hanna.
Shine on, Steph
ngani
from
pittsburgh
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
6:04 pm
Hanna, thank you for demonstrating so much love, so much courage, and a deep belief in community. It has been an invaluable gift to be in your orbit.
Emily Mohn-Slate
from
Los Angeles, CA
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
5:33 pm
Dear Hanna, you and your writing changed my life, and I never even met you in person. Thank you for your immense courage, fierce gentleness, truth telling, and practice of "softening into what is." Thank you for all that you've shared with us. You have planted countless seeds that will keep growing once you pass on before us. We will remember you. You ended your interview with me in this way: "I bow to the sacred inside you." Imagine all of us whose lives you've touched (and all the people you don't know that you've touched) bowing now to the sacred inside you, which you have passed onto us and planted in our hearts. Thank you. with deep love and gratitude to you and strength and courage for this journey before you.
Erin Taylor
from
Pittsburgh
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
5:24 pm
Hanna--
Your profound strength is beautiful. I am a fellow Madwomen, although I do not believe our paths have crossed in person. I wanted to ask you if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior? He Loves You so, so much. All you need to do is declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will Be Saved. (Rom 10:9)
God SO LOVED YOU that He sent His son to die an excruciating death for your sins. You Specifically. You Personally. He loves and cherishes every hair on your head, your indomitable spirit, the beauty you create when you string words together. I will be praying and believing fervently that you accept His sacrifice for your sins and ferocious love for you. Because he is the only way to the Father. I also pray that this last leg of your journey be filled with God's love and peace and comfort.
God Bless You Hanna.
With much Love,
Your fellow Trailblazing, Mad-as-a-Hatter, Mad-Attic Woman,
Erin
Julie Cecchini
from
Pittsburgh
wrote on January 29, 2026
at
5:20 pm
Dear Hanna, I remember first meeting you at Journey Dance at ELPC years ago, immediately noticing the radiance and joy that poured out of you. I remember a very moving essay you wrote about S. Africa at a class at the Wilkins School and more amazing writings in a Madwomen class. Your beautiful essence will linger on for all of us who have been blessed by your presence in this world, much love, hugs and peace to you - Julie