2021/22 EDITORIAL TEAM
SOPHIA IOSUE
Editor in Chief
Sophia Iosue graduated with Distinction from the MSc in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford, where she received the Best Dissertation Prize for her work on domestic workers in Italy. She also holds a joint B.A. in Comparative Literature and Government from Harvard University. Her research focusses on labour migration.
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TRINH TRUONG
Editor in Chief
Trinh recently graduated with an MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies at the University of Oxford, where her research focused on theories of citizenship and the social contract of resettlement. Prior to moving to the UK, she spent a year in Cambodia researching the effects of deportation on refugees formerly resettled in the US. Trinh also has experience working with refugee resettlement organizations, an immigrant bail fund, and an immigration sanctuary network. She holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University and an undergraduate certificate in Human Rights Studies from Yale Law School. She was resettled as a political refugee from Vietnam at the age of 3.
PAUL VERNON
Editor in Chief
Paul recently graduated with an MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies at the University of Oxford, where his research examined the multiple ways in which humanitarian practitioners internalize and engage with the concept of protection. Other research interests include political anthropology, sovereignty, and the global response to Burmese forced migration. Paul previously completed a B.A at Swarthmore College and has previously worked with the Karen Human Rights Group, UNHCR, Refugees International Japan, and InterAction.
CHUNKAI CAO
Academic Editor
Chunkai is currently an MSc Migration Studies candidate at the University of Oxford. In her degree, she is focusing on state-diaspora relations in the Global South, new technology, and the socialist and post-socialist perspectives on migration. Her thesis looks into Chinese diaspora engagement through a geopolitical lens of the rise of China. Previously, Chunkai completed a BBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Hong Kong. She has also worked for a social enterprise for refugees in Malaysia and student-initiated projects on conflict resolution in the Sinophone area.
TIGER HILLS
Academic Editor
Tiger Hills is a graduate student in the Migration Studies MSc at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the intersection between non-state actors, social and climate justice, and ideas of 'hope' in the context of migration. She holds an ESRC scholarship which she will use to continue her research after the MSc. She has significant experience working alongside grassroots NGOs and graduated from Oxford University with a BA in Geography. She subsequently worked as a Geography teacher in North London.
MAURICE KIRSCHBAUM
Policy Editor
Maurice Kirschbaum recently graduated with an MSc in Migration Studies from the University of Oxford. His thesis looked into the ethics of repatriation of Syrian refugees from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. He studied for a BA in International Studies/Middle Eastern Studies at Leiden University. He is currently working in the Middle East division of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He previously co-founded two student-led multidisciplinary journals: Medusa at Leiden and the KCL Student journal of International Affairs.
NICK LANCASTER
Field Editor
Nick Lancaster is a current MSc student in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford and has a BA in History from University College London. His research is currently focused on how urban mobility has been incorporated into the planning of post-apartheid Johannesburg, and he is more broadly interested in the institution of urban planning and how cities are built to facilitate or prevent inclusion.
NINA MATSUMOTO
Artistic & Creative Expressions
Nina Matsumoto is a current Migration Studies MSc student at the University of Oxford. Prior to starting her studies at Oxford, she worked as an educator on a Fulbright scholarship in Bulgaria, an advocacy coordinator at a Japan-based grassroots NGO, and an interpreter/translator. Inspired by her previous work with minority youth communities, her current research interests include topics such as transnational identity formation, transitional justice, and immigrant social integration policies. She holds an honors bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Spanish from Pitzer College (USA).
FATIMA ZEHRA NAQVI
Artistic & Creative Expressions
Fatima Zehra Naqvi is a writer, editor, and educator. Her research, writing and community work centre on issues of borders, migration, (im)mobilities, and displacement, in particular how narratives shape ideas and policies around belonging and unbelonging. Zehra has written and edited for various publications internationally. She holds an MSc in Migration Studies and an MSc in Social Anthropology from Oxford, where she recently completed her studies as a Rhodes Scholar. Prior to Oxford, she graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BA (Honours) in English and Creative Writing.
ERICA SEWELL
Law 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 previously worked advising international students on their immigration status. She currently lives in Seoul, South Korea to explore her research interests in immigrant integration policies and internationalisation of higher education in East Asia.
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.
EMMA WALKER-SILVERMAN
Academic Editor
Emma Walker-Silverman is a doctoral student in the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford. She is interested in intergroup relations and the forces that shape them, and her doctoral research focuses on the influence of social media on host community attitudes towards Syrian refugees in Turkey. She holds an MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies with distinction from the University of Oxford and a BA in Psychology with minors in Race & Ethnicity Studies and Middle Eastern Literature, Language & Culture, with distinction, from Stanford University. She has also been a visiting student at the University of Cape Town and Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Before coming to Oxford, she worked with grassroots NGOs and conducted research as a Fulbright Scholar in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey.
ASSAD ASIL COMPANIONI
Policy Editor
Assad is currently a MSc in Migration Studies candidate at the University of Oxford. He also volunteers at the student-led Global Security Initiative as Head of Research and Analysis, where he guides and oversees analytical work and publications pertaining to current international affairs. Currently, he is researching questions of sociocultural integration for his dissertation, though his wider academic and policy interests involve far-right political activity, migration and human rights, global governance, and sustainable development. During his undergraduate studies for a BA in International Relations, he developed a background oriented around critical theory.
ALEXANDER BOSSAKOV
Academic Editor
Alexander Bossakov is currently pursuing a MSc in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford. His research and interests relate to urban informality and labour mobilities, critical approaches to governance and development, and post-socialist and Balkan geographies. Previously, he has worked as a consultant with NYU CIC's Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just & Inclusive Societies, supporting policy research on inequality and exclusion; at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy; and throughout several nonprofits and think-tanks for short durations. He has conducted field research in Yunnan, China, northern India, and the Ecuadorian-Colombian border on topics ranging from out-migration and left-behind communities, subnational identities and social movements, and humanitarian communication and coordination mechanisms. Originally, from Sofia, Bulgaria, Alexander completed his B.A. in international studies, globalisation & sustainability at Dickinson College.