Anna Theresa Hanson

Born: April 13, 2013
Current Age: 55
Position: Psychiatric counselor to the Tracy family and International Rescue

Anna was born in Seattle, Washington, to a Boeing engineer father and a social worker mother. Her father died while she was in college. She grew up camping and hiking in the Pacific Northwest/Cascade Mountains.

She met her husband, Ryan, while they were both students at the University of Washington in Seattle. When they graduated, they were married in Seattle and she went to New Zealand with him. They have three children. Their oldest son, Terry, is married and has a child; a younger son, David, is a college grad who works with computers. He is gay and has a partner. Their daughter, Mary, is at college, studying music and computers. Ryan works for Boeing Aerospace as a satellite designer. Anna has little contact with her family back in the States. She is planning on a month long visit after she retires, but doesn’t really know her nieces and nephews. Her father died 20 years ago and her mother has remarried.

Anna considered becoming a doctor but hated the biology and chemistry. She also briefly considered the priesthood - she’s Episcopalian - but went into social work instead. She received her Master's of Social Work in 2036, and after a year’s internship, started working as a case worker for Social Services. She was very good at dealing with trauma victims and eventually got a second Master's in Counseling. Her master's thesis was on the long term effect of trauma on emergency responders, using examples and statistics from 9-11 and other terrorists attacks as well as various major natural disasters. She compared the effects of the large scale disasters to those of ‘smaller’ disasters such as house fires and auto accidents.

Eventually, she started working for the city of Christchurch, helping police officers and firefighters who had been wounded, seen a co-worker die, or been forced to kill in self-defense. She also helped the families of officers or firefighters who had been injured or killed. She took a year off in 2057-2058 due to burnout, and has just retired from her job in the Christchurch government trauma unit. Opening a private, part-time counseling practice to augment her retirement salary is one of her goals.

She became involved with the Tracy family when Dianne's uncle, Drew Carmichael, recommended her. He had met Anna during the rebuilding efforts following the tsunami, and mentioned her name when Dianne came to him looking for a counselor to deal with the aftermath of rescues.

Anna has a pilot's license, but has a heart condition that precludes her from flying – which is fine with her as she doesn't like flying much anyway. She volunteers in several venues: Habitat for Humanity is one, and she does free counseling once a week at her local domestic violence shelter. She also donates money to the Heifer International project. Her volunteer activities are prescribed by her heart problem. she lacks stamina and is looking at a possible heart transplant in 15 to 20 years. She walks to keep her weight down, and takes medicine to lower her cholesterol.

She enjoys long walks in the mountains or on the beach and taking cruises. Science fiction and mysteries are favorite reading materials, and she collects children's and young adult books. She likes going to science fiction conventions and writes filk songs, though normally she'd rather stay home and read than go out. A former SCA member, she enjoyed archery. Ryan, who isn't ready to retire yet, likes flying and restoring old planes.

Anna is known as being a very practical woman. She has strong religious beliefs, but keeps them to herself, though she loves a good theological argument. Her job has forced her to realize that she cannot save the whole world, nor can she save people from themselves or make them grow up. She is effective in her job with families as she loves children and gets along well with school-aged kids. People who won't admit there's a problem make her angry, especially if children are involved. She tends to lose patience with those who don't understand something she thinks they should, and gets angry if she thinks someone is ignoring something important.

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