Hanson began her career in education, working as a teacher, advisor to the French government on developing programs for disadvantaged children and principal of Sandy Ground Elementary School.

When Richardson was forced from office in 2013, Hanson was elected as the first woman to serve as president of the Overseas Collectivity of St. Martin.

[2] After completing her studies, Hanson returned to St. Martin and began a teaching career at the Seaside School (French: l'école du Bord de Mer) in 1974.

[4] After participating in the creation and establishment of the local center of educational documentation, Hanson worked as a coordinator of various projects for the program and as a documentalist for research about the ZEP.

Interested in creating new legislation for collective, she visited Andorra and Saint Pierre and Miquelon to study their laws.

She was the first woman to serve in the position[3][7] and made a goal of her administration the improvement of relations and cooperation between St. Martin and Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of the island.