2019/20Â EDITORIAL TEAM
ANA POWELL
Editor in Chief
Ana graduated from the MSc in Migration Studies with distinction at the University of Oxford in the summer of 2017. There, she focused on the ways in which the 2015 "Refugee Crisis" exposed the tension between race and cosmopolitanism in traditionally homogenous welfare states, with a particular focus on Sweden. She is currently based in NYC, where she has worked with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and in refugee resettlement with the International Rescue Committee.
ANDREA ORTIZ
Editor in Chief
Andrea Ortiz recently received a MSc in Migration Studies with distinction from the University of Oxford and has a B.A. in Social Studies and Economics with honors from Harvard University. Due to her ethnographic research experience on a Fulbright scholarship in central Mexico, her research interests have developed to be primarily in the areas of migration and development, Southern-led responses to displacement, and urban integration.
ALIX BIGGS
Policy Editor
Alexandra Biggs is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where she undertook a Masters in Migration Studies with a focus on minority populations in the Middle East. Having previously worked in Australia in the finance sector, she is currently working in Egypt on refugee policy and advocacy.
TIMO SCHMIDT
First Hand Editor
Timo Schmidt is a Research Assistant with MPI Europe, where he focuses on European policies related to asylum, irregular migration, return and foresight. He also works as a Director and Coproducer of a transmedia project on migration in Europe (i.e. Refugee Roads). Previously, Timo was a Research Associate, in Jerusalem, with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP). He also served as a mentor for refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon, as well as a student consultant on refugee labour market integration at Leiden University. Timo holds a master’s of science in migration studies, with distinction, from the University of Oxford, where he specialised in EU migration policy and the economics of migration. He received an honors bachelor’s degree in international studies, cum laude, from Leiden University, where he focused on Middle Eastern studies. He also spent a semester at the Netherlands Institute Morocco in Rabat, completing research on migrant integration and intensive Arabic language courses.
ERICA SEWELL
First Hand Editor
Erica Sewell earned an MSc in Migration Studies from the University of Oxford in July 2016. There, she focused on U.S. media representation of immigrants and its impact on their social integration. She also holds a BA in Anthropology and Comparative Literature from Rutgers University, where she now works advising international students on their immigration status. Erica previously studied in South Korea and Japan for several years. This experience informs her current research interest in immigrant integration policies and internationalisation of higher education in East Asia.
LAWRENCE HUANG
Academic Editor
Lawrence Huang is a current MSc Migration Studies Student at the University of Oxford (exp. 2020), where he researches critical race in the Euro-African migration and development nexus. His background is in political theory and the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt, with particular interests in citizenship, sovereignty, and the politics of race. He has published on the ethics of borders, investor citizenship, and the philosophy of law. He earned his BA in Government (Honors) from Georgetown University and is currently the Healy Scholar at St Cross College.
_JPG.jpg)
STEPHANIE HENG
Field Editor
Stephanie is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies in the University of Oxford. She is a volunteer researcher with Urban Refugees and Refugee Rights Europe, and has had previous work experience in the areas of foreign affairs, journalism, and migrant legal aid. Her research interests include the politics of humanitarianism, urban refugees, and spatial justice.
DOMIZIANA TURCATTI
Academic Editor
Domiziana is currently pursuing a DPhil in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar which examines the onward migration-family nexus. Specifically, her doctoral research investigates the lived experiences of the families of onward Colombian migrants who migrated from Spain to London in the aftermath of the 2008 global and Spanish crisis. Domiziana graduated from a MPhil in Sociology of Marginality and Exclusion with distinction and a Gates Cambridge Scholarship at the University of Cambridge. Her MPhil research focused on the lived experiences of social reproduction of Latin American parents with diverse legal statuses in London and addressed the role of London-based Latin American NGOs in their lives. Prior to moving to the UK, she investigated the experiences of Moroccan Dutch youth in Amsterdam and Rotterdam as part of her Liberal Arts and Science studies at Amsterdam University College, which is where she discovered her passion for migration studies and realised the importance of understanding migrants and their descendants’ lived experiences from their own perspectives in order to forge alliances for social justice.
EMMA WALKER-SILVERMAN
Academic Editor
Emma Walker-Silverman is a graduate student in the Refugee and Forced Migration MSc at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on host community attitudes towards Syrian refugees in Turkey, an aspect of her broader interests in intergroup relations and the forces that shape them. She previously worked with grassroots NGOs and conducted research as a Fulbright Scholar in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey. She graduated from Stanford University (PBK) with a BA in Psychology with distinction and dual minors in Race & Ethnicity Studies and Middle Eastern Literature, Language & Culture.
SAMUEL FOUTS
Artistic & Creative Expressions Editor
Sam is currently studying for a MSt in Musicology at the University of Oxford. He previously earned a MMus with distinction from the University of Cambridge and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Music Education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota in the United States. In recent years, Sam has worked as an educator, choral musician and conductor in schools, universities and churches in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Inspired by his work with recently arrived students and families from El Salvador and Mexico, Sam's research in Oxford is primarily concerned with the intersection of music, migration and education.
POONAM SANDHU
Law Editor
Poonam is currently an MSc Refugee and Forced Migration Studies candidate at the University of Oxford, where she researches the concept of self-reliance and its programmatic implementation in Turkana County, Kenya. Her thesis focuses on planning and development of the Kalobeyei refugee settlement. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Poonam worked as a public servant for the Federal Government of Canada and an impact and evaluation researcher in Lima, Peru. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of British Columbia, and was a visiting student at Sciences Po, Paris.
SOPHIA IOSUE
Policy Editor
Sophia Losue is currently in the MSc Migration Studies at the University of Oxford. In the degree, she is focusing on domestic workers in Italy and anthropological elements of their experiences. Previously, she completed a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Government from Harvard University. After her undergraduate studies, Sophia taught English in Italy and worked in refugee resettlement with Church World Service.
LAUREN CRAWFORD
Academic Editor
Lauren is currently studying a MSt in Modern European History at the University of Oxford. Her dissertation examines the intersection of Holocaust memory and humanitarian interventionism in German foreign policy, with a particular focus on the evolution of German asylum law. Prior to coming to Oxford, she worked as an educator at the Tenement Museum, an immigration history museum in NY, and as an English teacher through the Fulbright program in Germany. She also holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Oberlin College.
DRASHTI THAKKAR
Policy Editor
Drashti Thakkar is currently in the MSc Migration Studies at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on urban refugees, informal economies and policy solutions studying this especially in a comparative perspective. She volunteers for various London based migrant and refugee organisations like Hackney CVS and the Renewal Programme. Previously, she completed a B.A. in Mass Media and an M.A. in Political Science form Mumbai. She also has work experience as a State Government Fellow and an evaluation researcher in India.