SPS Stories
Student Spotlight
Damon Hamman
Helping Shape a Continent's Climate Future
Fast Facts
- Earning his master's with a concentration in Transnational Security
- His professional focus is conflict analysis, human security, intelligence, and data-driven policy research
- Interested in the intersection of diplomacy, terrorism, illicit finance, African security, and geospatial conflict analysis
<p>Damon Hamman, a graduate assistant at the <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/about/academic-divisions-and-departments/center-for-global-affairs.html">Center for Global Affairs</a>, was one of four climate leaders from across the African continent to participate in the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum. Hamman served as <a href="https://africarenewal.un.org/en/magazine/africas-youth-are-shaping-continents-climate-future">moderator of a panel</a> where he interviewed fellow activists Sibusiso Mazomba, Jabri Ibrahim, and Eugenia Boateng. Participants discussed the ways that African youth can become empowered to drive climate solutions.</p>
<p><a href="https://africarenewal.un.org/en/magazine/africas-youth-are-shaping-continents-climate-future">In this UN African Renewal piece</a>, Hamman and his fellow panelists illustrated how youth activism is blazing new pathways for climate leadership across the continent, where water-related climate impacts are deepening inequalities and threatening sustainable development. Hailing from South Africa, Hamman's graduate studies focus on how conflict analysis, intelligence, and emerging analytical tools can help policymakers better understand insecurity across complex regional environments.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sps.nyu.edu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-global-affairs.html">MS in Global Affairs</a> candidate has collaborated with the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Africa to develop an AI-assisted thematic analysis pipeline for Voluntary National Reviews, and has contributed to policy briefs aligned with Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. He has also been a vocal advocate for diplomatic engagement with African missions and helped translate complex development and security priorities into policy-relevant analysis.</p>
[Y]oung people are not only responding to the climate crisis but reshaping the development agenda."
<p>Additionally, Hamman has worked with the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, where he developed mixed-methods conflict analysis methodologies, contributed to practice-oriented research on inclusive governance, climate-security, and financing, and supported high-level African Union engagement. He has served as a graduate consultant with the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, co-authoring a report on how illicit finance and criminal networks sustain terrorism across high-risk regions.</p>
<p>Hamman hopes to continue applying rigorous research, geospatial analysis, and policy-oriented methods to support institutions working on conflict prevention, counterterrorism, and security.</p>