Research/Areas of Interest
The financial journeys of transcontinental refugees and migrants
Smuggling and shadow finance in refugee economies
Economic and financial integration of migrants and refugees in host economies
Financial inclusion in refugee and cross-border economies.
Education
- MBA, Simmons College, Boston, United States
- BA, Wellesley College, Wellesley, United States
Biography
As a Sr. Lecturer in International Business and Human Security, I have deeply enjoyed both teaching and research activities at the Fletcher School. I joined the faculty in 2005 and am proud to have received the James L. Paddock award for excellent teaching in 2009. Because I am half-time on the faculty, I have continued to undertake intensive fieldwork for the World Bank, several UN organizations, and many international NGOs. In the classroom, this has allowed me to apply first-hand, highly practical examples to theoretical frameworks in a range of sectors— from financial inclusion to education to agriculture.
Since 2016, I have focused my research exclusively on the financial journeys of refugees and migrants, paying particular attention to transcontinental journeys. This led me to launch the Journeys Project (http://sites.tufts.edu/journeysproject/) in 2018. The site illuminates the economic and financial strategies that migrating people use to amass funds prior to a journey, access money along the way, and manage finances once they reach a destination, whether final or temporary. My research on the financial elements of migration has been promoted or sponsored by the UN High Commission on Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, UN Capital Development fund, the German Agency for International Cooperation, the Open Society Foundations (via IRC), Catholic Relief Services, The International Rescue Committee, and Mercy Corps.
Fletcher masters' students have been deeply involved in my field research and have documented the financial experiences of migrants and refugees in many locations, including East Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, and the United States. In 2023, I look forward to publishing a chapter in Global Human Smuggling (Johns Hopkins Press) and co-authoring a book with Daryl Collins on the financial journeys of refugees (Princeton University Press). In the meantime, I am happy to be teaching courses on how to generate robust evidence in field research.
Since 2016, I have focused my research exclusively on the financial journeys of refugees and migrants, paying particular attention to transcontinental journeys. This led me to launch the Journeys Project (http://sites.tufts.edu/journeysproject/) in 2018. The site illuminates the economic and financial strategies that migrating people use to amass funds prior to a journey, access money along the way, and manage finances once they reach a destination, whether final or temporary. My research on the financial elements of migration has been promoted or sponsored by the UN High Commission on Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, UN Capital Development fund, the German Agency for International Cooperation, the Open Society Foundations (via IRC), Catholic Relief Services, The International Rescue Committee, and Mercy Corps.
Fletcher masters' students have been deeply involved in my field research and have documented the financial experiences of migrants and refugees in many locations, including East Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, and the United States. In 2023, I look forward to publishing a chapter in Global Human Smuggling (Johns Hopkins Press) and co-authoring a book with Daryl Collins on the financial journeys of refugees (Princeton University Press). In the meantime, I am happy to be teaching courses on how to generate robust evidence in field research.