Hasshan Batts

Hasshan is a prison survivor, healer, son, father, grandfather, brother, husband, and friend. He is a community epidemiologist, a community-based participatory researcher, a dynamic motivational speaker, and a leading expert on trauma-informed care, global health, reentry, and community engagement.

Hasshan is the Executive Director of the Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, a Black-led, antiracist, non-profit organization dedicated to the liberation of all people. He is the Founder and President of the Prison Survivors Network and a founding member of the Society for the Healing and Study of Historical Trauma. and a board member of Penn State Extension.

Hasshan holds a joint MSW from North Carolina A&T and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a doctorate in Health Sciences and post graduate certificate in Global Health from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. He was previously an adjunct professor at Lenoir Rhyne University, Lincoln University and Lehigh University.  He is a distinguished Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Leader and has been awarded fellowships at Lehigh University and the Rider-Pool Foundation. He is an appointed Pennsylvania Commissioner to the Governor’s Commission on African American Affairs and serves on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Reentry Council, and the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute.