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2011/12 EDITORIAL BOARD

V. TAI SAYARATH

Founder, Chair and Editor in Chief

Tai specializes in forced migration, asylum and human rights of Asia and the Middle East. Her academic focus intersects (Forced) Migration, Political Theory, and Law and has centred on refugee protection in states not signatory to the Refugee Convention. In addition to her MSc in Forced Migration from the University of Oxford, Tai holds a BA in International Relations/International Studies with First Class Honors. She is currently a Juris Doctor candidate at Melbourne Law School. Tai has worked for the Castan Centre for Human Rights, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking and Asylum Access. She is now based in Beirut, Lebanon and works for UNHCR.

DENISE DELANEY

Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Denise is primarily interested in the experience of the displaced in Latin America as well as how states perceive themselves to be responsible for refugees. Her past research investigated the marginalization and violence faced by internally displaced persons in Bogotá, Colombia. Previously a Fulbright fellow, she interned with UNHCR in Maracaibo, Venezuela examining the urban challenges faced by Colombian refugees there. In addition to her MSc in Forced Migration from the University of Oxford, Denise holds a BA in Social Anthropology and Certificate in Latin American Studies from Harvard University.

JANNA WESSELS

Vice Chair and Policy Monitor Editor

Janna’s primary interests lie in legal questions concerning the refugee definition and the 1951 Convention more broadly. In her current position as Quentin Bryce Doctoral Scholar at University of Technology Sydney and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, she focuses on the role of human rights and ‘discretion’ reasoning in sexuality-based asylum claims. Janna graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master of Science in Forced Migration at the Refugee Studies Centre in 2010. She previously earned her German Master-level degree in Social Sciences (Diplom-Sozialwissenschaften) from WWU Münster as well as her French Master-level degree in Political Science (Diplôme de l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Lille) from IEP Lille. Janna currently works as a research associate for an Australian Research Council funded an international comparative study on Gender-Related Harms in Forced Migration and has previously worked as Secretary General of the European non-profit organisation EQANIE, with the International Organisation for Migration in Montevideo, Uruguay as well as with an NGO in La Paz, Bolivia.

AYLA BONFIGLIO

Academic Articles Editor

Ayla’s primary interests in the field of forced migration lie in refugee protection, livelihood strategies, and emergency education programming. Her past research in Uganda has examined these issues among refugee populations living in UNHCR-sponsored settlements and in Kampala. Ayla has also worked and carried out research in Guatemala, Senegal and Rwanda. In addition to her MSc in Forced Migration from the University of Oxford, Ayla holds a BA Hons in Political Science from Columbia University.

AMANDA CRAIG

First Hand Editor

Amanda’s research focuses on how law, politics and humanitarianism overlap to protect or restrain forced migrants. Recently, she explored how refugee journalists may lack the political right to free expression because of a humanitarian imperative in asylum. She previously conducted research with and volunteered in an organization that assists refugees in Cairo, Egypt. In addition to her MSc in Forced Migration, Amanda holds a BS in Journalism and in International Studies from Northwestern University.

NATE DUNSTAN

Field Monitor Editor

Nate’s primary interest is in refugee resettlement, in particular how it can be used ‘strategically’ and/or as a tool to address protracted refugee situations. He has experience working in resettlement with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in his native California, interned with UNHCR in Benin and New York, and has also worked in refugee camps in Thailand. In addition to the MSc in Forced Migration from the University of Oxford, he holds an MA in International Relations from San Francisco State University and a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

LARA FINKBEINER

Law Monitor Editor

Lara is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a 2011 Dean’s Public Service Fellow and the 2012-2013 recipient of the Hessel E. Yntema Award. Prior to law school, Lara spent a year in Ecuador researching Colombian refugees as a Fulbright scholar. Lara received her B.A. in History with Honors from the University of Michigan in 2008, her MSc in Forced Migration from the University of Oxford in 2010, and her J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2013.She is also a 2013 Equal Justice Works Fellow. Lara is primarily interested in protection gaps that confront forced migrants. As the Deputy Legal Director at the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) in New York, her current work focuses primarily on providing legal assistance to the LGBT refugee population in the Middle East. Lara has worked at the Refugee Rights Clinic at the University Cape Town in South Africa, AIRE Centre in London and at UNHCR in Washington DC, which led to deployments as a refugee status determination officer in Guantanamo Bay and The Bahamas.

LUCIA ROZKOPALOVA

Field Monitor Editor

Having obtained a first class degree in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham UK, Lucia specialised in Forced Migration, obtai ning a Master of Science from the University of Oxford UK. After graduation, Lucia interned at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Jakarta, Indonesia. Currently, Lucia is a trainee with the European Union Delegation to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.  Lucia’s research interests concentrate on human rights of the Roma minority in Europe, specifically in Slovakia, Germany and the UK. More broadly, her interests also cover international development, humanitarian aid and gender issues.

CLARA STRAIMER

First Hand Editor

Clara has been working with asylum seekers and refugees in Europe for over three years. She holds a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Sheffield and an MSc in Forced Migration at the University of Oxford. Most recently she worked as a consultant for the British Red Cross Refugee and International Tracing Service in London where she conducted a needs assessment and research into the funding cuts. Her current interests include evaluation and monitoring, participatory programme planning in emergencies, return and reintegration, the rights of persons with disabilities and EU asylum law.

ANAIS RESSÉGUIER

Academic Articles Editor

Anaïs’ primary interest lies in the detention of migrants and refugees in Europe and its neighboring countries. Most recently, she has explored the situation in waiting zones at the French borders from an Agambenian perspective. In addition to the MSc in forced Migration from the University of Oxford, she holds a BA in Philosophy from Boston College, USA and a MA in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University, France where she concentrated on the work of Michel Foucault and the concept of race.

BERND BAUEROCHSE

Design

(Bio coming)

J. OLAF KLEIST

Layout

(Bio coming)

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