REAL Faculty Director
Bernhard Streitwieser (PhD, Columbia University) is Associate Professor of International Education and International Affairs, Director of the International Education Program, and UNESCO Co-Chair in International Education for Development. His research focuses on access and integration of refugees and migrants into higher education, and the internationalization of higher education. He is the founding director of REAL.
Jihae Cha (EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University) is an Assistant Professor of International Education at The George Washington University. Her research interests examine the intersection of education quality, sense of belonging, gender, and psychosocial well-being, and the ways in which they influence students’ academic motivation, persistence, and transition in forced displacement caused by armed conflicts and natural disasters.
REAL Executive Board
MaryAnn Chiu (Co-Lab Leader) is currently a first year Master’s student in International Education, and is passionate about Education in Emergencies and Education in low- and middle-income countries. She did her undergraduate in Special Education, and taught for a year at a resource classroom in Sunshine Elementary School Taiwan. She also interned at the Taiwan Africa International Service Association (TAISA), focusing on improving ICT Education in Kenya and Tanzania. MaryAnn is a Third Culture Kid. Originally from Taiwan, she spent parts of her childhood in The Philippines and Thailand. Now, in the USA, she is very excited to broaden her horizons and dive deeper into the field of International Education. She serves as one of the Co-Lab Leaders.
Mia Cleary (Co- Lab Leader) is a current Master’s student studying International Education and has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Political Science from Florida International University. Mia serves as the student leader for the DMV Regional Convening on Refugee Students in Higher Education and Co-Lab Leader of REAL. Living in Florida, Sweden, South Korea, and Spain, Mia gained an affinity for all things international. While abroad, her friendships sparked an interest in refugee education, and she has since been passionate about creating greater education access and successful cultural acculturation for refugee, immigrant, undocumented, and displaced students. Mia currently works in Student Services at GWU, staying active in the GW community as a student and staff member.
Megan Ward (Co-Lab Leader) is a graduate student at George Washington University studying International Education with a focus on Education in Emergencies (EiE) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Megan is a co-lab leader of REAL and works at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as a Youth Success Specialist supporting recently resettled youth with identifying and achieving their educational goals. Her other professional experience includes Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), special education, program coordination, and French studies. In her free time, Megan enjoys traveling, live music, and spending time with her chosen family.
Kobe MacPherson (Co-Webmaster) is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in International Education, where his research interests are focused upon the motivations of international students, and international student-athletes to travel/study abroad in the U.S. He has also spent close to 6 years within the U.S. higher education as an international student; as well as spending time working alongside faculty as a teaching assistant helping first-year exchange and international students with adjusting to the U.S. higher education experience.
Olivia Dunn (Co-Webmaster) is in her second year of pursuing a Master’s degree in International Education, with a focus on Education in Emergencies and Education Policy, and has a BA in International Studies from Northern Michigan University. She currently serves as one of the Co-Webmasters for REAL and the Treasurer for GW’s International Education Association. Her research interests center on the role of identity and belonging in education for refugees and IDPs, as well as education retention for youth in Central America. Olivia has previously worked in campaign finance on all levels from local to Congressional to Senatorial. Olivia’s experience allows her to see the intersectionality between education, finance, and politics. Currently, Olivia serves as an Admissions Coordinator for the Elliot School of International Affairs Graduate Admissions, where she gets to work with and uplift the world’s future leaders. When Olivia is not working, you can find her in your nearest bookstore or library.
Maria Fusca (Editorial Team) is currently the Program Manager, Conference Program at NAFSA: Association of International Educators, where she works on developing, managing, and evaluating the content of NAFSA’s annual conference, which brings together over 8,000 educators and service providers in the field of international education. She recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from the George Washington University Honors program with a BA in International Affairs and minors in Cross-Cultural Communication and Sociocultural Anthropology. During her studies, Maria interned at the Institute of World Politics, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subcommittee House Democracy Partnership, and the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. As an immigrant herself, she has always been interested in supporting access to education for migrants regardless of their legal status.
Jacqui Hatch (Editorial Team, Fmr Co-Lab Leader) is acquiring a Master’s degree in International Education, with an interest in EiE. For the last several years Jacqui has mobilized TESOL programs and supported resettlement efforts for internally displaced populations throughout South East Asia, worked in various government capacities, and contributed research to USAID, IRC, and IIE in areas concerning gender-based violence, education exchange policy, and resettlement and displacement in LMICs. A recent UNESCO graduate fellow in Geneva, her research examines the intersection of the role of youth in human rights education and the provision of early childhood care and education for sustainable futures and lifelong learning in areas of crisis and conflict.
Nicole Hansen (Editorial Team) is a third-year undergraduate student studying Criminal Justice, English, and Minoring in Arabic Studies at the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at GWU. She currently serves as an editorial team member for REAL. She has passions in research, service, and advocacy, and works as a Research Assistant with the GWU School of Media and Public Affairs. When not studying or working, she spends her time volunteering with the Petey Greene Program and Miriam’s kitchen to further support the DC community. She currently plans to pursue a career in human/civil rights law after the completion of her degree.
Nikki Paris (Social Media Co-Chair) is pursuing her master’s in International Affairs with a concentration in Asia from the Elliott School of International Affairs. She currently serves as a social media manager and research fellow for REAL. She has a passion for disability inclusion. This past summer she interned with the UN Bhutan, developing initiatives to increase access to meaningful educational and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Amina Iman (Social Media Co-Chair) is an undergraduate student studying Arabic and International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs with a concentration in Security Policy and a micro-minor in Immigration & Migration Studies. She currently serves as a research fellow and social media manager for REAL. She also serves as the Director of Government Relations for GW’s leading refugee advocacy organization, No Lost Generation. Her research and advocacy interests are vested in her experience supporting minority background and refugee students in Fairfax County and the DMV area before joining REAL in 2022. Currently, she is focused on researching and advocating for the mitigation of barriers to accessing education for refugee students & developing a national network for student-led advocacy organizations for refugees at the college level.
Ainara Hidalgo (Member Engagement Officer) is pursuing a Master’s degree in International Education. As a Member Engagement Officer for REAL, she’s passionate about ensuring and cultivating a sense of belonging for all in education, especially for underrepresented youth, first-generation college students, newly migrant students, and students of color. Ainara loves working in multicultural spaces and has a strong background in supporting international students. From 2022-23, she served as a high school counselor at the American College of Greece in Athens, helping students pursue an education in the U.S. Her adventures have taken her to Morocco, where she studied and researched the Moroccan Monarchy. Now she’s working at the Elliott School of International Affairs as an International Education and Student Services Program Coordinator. When she’s not immersed in her work, Ainara enjoys running and discovering new running spots!, hiking, cooking, and going out to new vegan restaurants around the DMV area.
REAL Collaborators
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.
Michalina Kulesza is a first-generation American and college student. Originally from upstate New York, Michalina leads the International Rescue Committee in Silver Spring’s community engagement department to support community initiatives for the integration of newly arrived refugees and humanitarian immigrants. Michalina previously served for a member in the New York State legislature, specializing in community outreach and statewide policy and coalition development, and for the Center for Women for Government & Civil Society, where she researched pay equity standards in state government. An alumnus of Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, Michalina’s academic background is in public administration, international affairs, and women in policy. In her free time, Michalina enjoys doing yoga, being outside, and spending time with family and friends.
Sneha Thudi is a current Senior and member of the 3-Year Global Scholars program at American University studying International Studies in the School of International Service with thematic focuses on Global Inequality and Development and Global Comparative Governance with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa. As a daughter of Indian immigrants and a Canadian immigrant herself, she is passionate about the social, economic, and cultural rights of immigrants, social mobility, and ‘brain waste’ of highly skilled under-utilized immigrants. She has interned in both the Intake and Youth teams at the International Rescue Committee Silver Spring where she was able to further her passion for the various communities by working directly for and with them. Sneha is also a member of the Immigration Lab at American University and a current intern in the Conflict, Prevention, Stabilization, and Transition practice at DT Global, a sustainable development firm based in Arlington, VA.