Elizabeth Hankins was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and moved to Houston, Texas just in time to start fourth grade. She’s lived in the Bayou City since, not counting time away for university studies.

After college graduation, Elizabeth worked in the energy industry for five years, part of which was spent as a corporate journalist and speechwriter. She switched gears in the early nineties and headed up a young family ministry at a local megachurch. A couple years later, she began consulting and writing for churches and other religious non-profits undergoing change. This is how she learned of southern Sudan’s plight, which is addressed in her first novel, The Calling.

In 2002, a brochure marked “Slavery and War in Sudan” crossed the desk where Elizabeth was working and what ensued would take too much space to detail here. Suffice it to say that a whole other world slowly came clear, along with the assurance that every person can do something to help in the fight against human injustice, oppression and extreme poverty. Elizabeth’s books are the outgrowth of this yet-ongoing journey – one that continues to persuade her that to be human affords great opportunity to care for humanity. 

Elizabeth divides her time between writing, researching and raising a family. Not infrequently, she participates in lobbying efforts and works with human rights-based special interest groups. Having traveled throughout parts of southern Sudan and seeing this oil-rich region devoid of even the most basic infrastructure (minimal access to clean drinking water, no health care and education systems, no basic roads), Elizabeth is committed to helping with initiatives aimed at preventing and stemming the flow of conflict resources (see Africa and the Resource Curse). Natural resources such as oil, gas, timber, diamonds, gold and the like often fuel civil wars and encourage political corruption in some of the world’s most resource-rich, but undeveloped countries (check out the work of Transparency International and read up on Kimberly Process, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Publish What You Pay).

Going forward, Elizabeth plans to keep writing and working to help shape policy that both prevents human atrocities and protects vulnerable populations. She also hopes to continue encouraging students to learn more about social injustices with the aim of getting involved and becoming the next generation of changemakers.