Inaya Ahmed is an undergraduate student studying International Affairs, with specific focus on International Development and the Middle East, respectively. Her research interests and experience focus on the integration of refugees into their host countries. She currently works as a Research and Development Intern for Jesuit Refugee Services, and has previously worked with the International Rescue Committee, as well as with a social cooperative in Bologna, Italy that assisted unaccompanied refugee and migrant youth.
O. Abiola Akintola graduated from the International Education Program at GWU’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development in Spring of 2023. He also holds a BA in History from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His research interests focus on postcolonialism, migration issues, crisis issues and the Global South. While serving in the Army National Guard, he participated in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and a contingency mission during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Jessica Crist is an Education Manager at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network where she focuses on attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She has previous experience working in international student services and graduate student recruitment at various universities in the U.S. and Mexico. Her research focuses on student migration, specifically on how refugee and at-risk migrants can use higher education as a pathway to migrate to the United States. She has teaching experience in Latin America and is interested in the Venezuelan and Central American migration crises.
Alex Erickson graduated from the International Education Program at GWU’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development in Spring of 2023. He has previous experience working with international and refugee students as a public high school teacher. Currently, he works in the field of international development and is a mentor to two refugee scholars. His research interests are in access to education for refugees and internationalizing US schools. His regional interests are in Eastern Europe and he speaks Russian at the intermediate level.
Jud-Ann Geneus graduated in the Spring of 2023 studying International Affairs and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research interests focus on migration within the Americas, particularly of those who are Afro-Descendants. She looks towards intersectionality as a framework when studying migration issues. Working with preschool students in neighborhoods throughout DC, she has an interest in primary and secondary education. Her work with preschool students encourages socio-emotional and dual language learning which she hopes to incorporate in her research.
Alison Grausam recently graduated from the International Education Program at GWU and her research interests lie in how governments can use education programs to combat global issues, including refugee and migrant crises. She also serves on the board of the International Education Association at GWU. Professionally, she is a Program Manager at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), where she works on international training and exchange programs for journalists abroad. She previously worked at Graduate School USA’s International Institute, working on IVLP and other international exchanges. She speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese and has worked extensively in Chile and Brazil.
Isabelle Hoagland is a Graduate Fellow in the Center for Global Engagement at Marymount University and recently graduated from the International Education Program at GWU’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She has a professional background working with refugees and immigrants in legal and resettlement capacities. Her research interests focus on early childhood education in emergencies in Latin America. She has experience in Latin America and is particularly interested in the Venezuelan Refugee crisis.
Ciara Hoyne graduated from the International Education Program at GWU’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development in the Spring of 2023. Her research interests focus on the language and cross-cultural barriers migrants and refugees face in seeking access to education. She has experience in Latin America and is particularly interested in the Venezuelan and Central American migration crises.
Olivia Issa has been engaged in migrant-advocacy and resettlement work in the US across Chicago, Maryland, and Washington D.C., working with a range of nonprofits and government agencies since 2015. Today, she serves as Program Lead for the Refugee Resettlement Initiative at the National Association of System Heads, coordinating public university systems to host refugees as families, students, and faculty on campuses.
As a college student at the George Washington University, Issa was president of refugee-advocacy student organization No Lost Generation GWU, where she founded the Welcoming Campus Initiative in the spring of 2021. Issa served as a researcher at REAL in its inaugural year, writing two chapters for a book with the lab and an article for AACRAO.
Ashley Mitchell graduated from the Education Policy Studies program at GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development in Spring of 2023. Her research interests include how language barriers can impede refugee and migrant children’s access to education and teacher training in working with these at-risk populations. She has experience in working in preschools, a non-profit organization, and as an elementary teacher. She is currently a fifth-grade teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools.
Caroline Rakus-Wojciechowski recently graduated from the International Education Program at GWU’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She has recently accepted a Project Coordinator position at EnCompass on their USAID Advancing the Agenda of Gender Equality (ADVANTAGE) team. Her work and research interests lie at the nexus between international education and international development work vis-a-vis youth empowerment and capacity-building through quality education. She volunteers with the Youth Sustainability Development Network in Nigeria as Co-Chair of Research Development.
Haley Skeens is a recent graduate of the International Education Program at the George Washington University (GWU) and was the Graduate Student Experience Fellow for the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at GWU. Her research interests include inclusive education for refugee students of all levels, intersectionality as it relates to education, and international exchange in higher education. Her previous research has focused on refugee women’s access to education and barriers for migrant and refugee Roma children within European school systems.
Savannah Smith graduated from the International Education program at the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development in the Spring of 2023. She currently works in research and program evaluation for international and community-based projects. She is interested in incorporating international perspectives into education and education in emergencies. Her research specifically within the refugee space focuses on the barriers refugee background students face when accessing higher education in the U.S. and historical trends in U.S. refugee policy.
Katharine Summers is an international development researcher and practitioner and a recent graduate of the International Development Studies program at GWU’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She currently works for an international development consulting firm which focuses on migration and education in Latin America. She has experience in Latin America and is interested in the Venezuelan and Central American migration crises, particularly informal educational opportunities for migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and children in-transit.
Brittany Troupe is a recent undergraduate studying Public Health and Economics. Her research interests explore how the social determinants of health frame displacement issues, focusing specifically on economic stability and education access and quality. She has experience as an early educator for PreK – 5 students in Washington D.C. and West Michigan. Brittany serves on the executive board of No Lost Generation GWU, coordinating a network of student advocates for refugees across the United States.