About HANA

The Haitian American Nationals Association (HANA) is an organization representing Haitian American interests through disciplined advocacy, policy engagement, civic education, and coordination between political actors.

Founded in 2018, HANA exists to address a long-standing gap: the absence of a credible, structured, and enduring institutional voice capable of engaging power without partisanship, dependency, or performative activism. Our work is grounded in the belief that sustainable progress is achieved through institutional literacy, continuity, and lawful engagement.

Institutional Engagement

HANA operates at the intersection of community experience and formal governance. We engage policymakers, government agencies, international institutions, civil society actors, and private stakeholders with the aim of translating lived realities into actionable policy considerations.

Our role is not to agitate for attention, but to inform, coordinate, and influence outcomes through documentation, dialogue, and sustained presence in accordance with our Charter and Bylaws.

Transnational Coordination

Decisions made in Washington D.C, Port-au-Prince, New York, or international forums often intersect, compound, and/or conflict. HANA works to bridge these spaces by facilitating communication and coordination between:

• Haitian communities in the United States
• Local and national stakeholders in Haiti
• Diaspora organizations and institutions
• International partners engaged in Haiti-related policy

Our work recognizes that durable solutions emerge when communities are not merely consulted, but structurally included.

Vision & Approach

HANA advances a future in which Haitian Americans and Haitian communities are institutionally represented, civically informed, and structurally included in decisions that affect their political standing, economic stability, human rights, and national identity and dignity—both domestically and transnationally.

HANA envisions durable systems of engagement where Haitian voices are not peripheral, reactive, or informal, but recognized, prepared, and consequential. We do not align with political parties, candidates, or transient movements. Instead, we prioritize:

• Disciplined research and record-based advocacy
• Civic education that strengthens informed participation
• Lawful, rights-based engagement with institutions
• Cross-border coordination that respects local sovereignty and capacity

With an active base spanning Florida, New York, and Haiti, this posture allows HANA to operate with credibility across administrations, jurisdictions, and international frameworks, while remaining accountable to the communities we represent.

HANA has assisted hundreds of individuals and families navigating displacement, economic hardship, immigration-related challenges, and administrative breakdown while contributing to broader policy conversations affecting Haiti and its global community.

Role

HANA exists to serve as an institutional intermediary a body capable of translating community realities into formal engagement. We are committed to:

• Protecting human and civil rights and liberties
• Advancing economic development rooted in local agency
• Upholding cultural and indigenous identity and dignity
• Strengthening accountability through lawful engagement

HANA is considered as a social welfare organization and civic institution built for continuity, credibility, long-term impact and the Haitian people are indeed the beneficiaries.