Sabrina Cohen-Hatton

About Sabrina Cohen-Hatton

After leaving home at 15 and school at 16, she overcame extreme personal adversity and a period of homelessness and began her career as a firefighter. At night school, she studied for a 1st Class Honours degree in Psychology, a Masters in International Fire Service Development and a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience.

She is now recognised as a leading international expert on risk-critical decision making in crises and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University. She has presented her work all over the world and used her research to change deeply ingrained national policy. She has won international acclaim for this prize-winning work. As a Chief Fire Officer, she has attained the highest rank possible in the UK. Her operational experience includes leading the fire service response to major incidents such as the London Bridge terror attack, the Finsbury Park terror attack and the aftermath of Grenfell.

She is a strong advocate for social mobility and is an ambassador for The Big Issue and Street Vet. She was named as one of The Big Issues top 100 changemakers, a Marie Clare Future Shaper and featured in Cosmopolitan’s Millennial Power List. Her first book, Heat of the Moment, was published in 2019 and her second, The Gender Bias, will be published in Spring 2023. Dogs are an important part of Sabrina’s life, since adopting a stray dog during her period of homelessness with provided the only social and emotional connection during that time. She now has three Xolo’s and her research has extended to explore the neuroscience of dogs.