Research Team

Bree is the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Global Adversity and Wellbeing, the Associate Director of the Centre for Research on Security Practices, and an Associate Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Social Work. Her research program ranges from micro-level understandings of the experiences of children and families to macro-level projects to strengthen social welfare and mental health systems in crisis-affected countries.

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Andrew is a researcher with Wilfrid Laurier University’s Department of Political Science and the Laurier Centre for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy. He studies political violence and atrocity crimes, global and local human rights issues, and international transitional justice efforts including Reconciliation in Canada. Dr. Basso holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Calgary and was previously a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Western University’s Centre for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction.

Patrick Ciaschi is a Ph.D. Candidate in Politics at the New School for Social Research. His doctoral research concerns the shifts in state and non-state led welfare practices in contemporary illiberal Hungary, and the adaptation of cultural concepts in the civil policing of racialized communities. His overarching interests reside in the study of global politics and the place of the state, the politics of movement and belonging, and ethnographic inquiry. Patrick developed case templates and researched cases for the book project and is part of the editing team for the text.

Lauren is a graduate student at Wilfrid Laurier’s Lyle S. Hallman School of Social Work, where she is researching the intergenerational, co-constructed experiences of children and families. Lauren brings her previous training in Global Development Studies (Queen’s University, Honours BA) and Global Health (McMaster University, Master of Science) to this project. As a research assistant to Dr. Bree Akesson, Lauren has helped shape this book throughout the editing process. 

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Esther holds an Honours BSW degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MSW from University of Toronto. As a Research Assistant for the project, Esther developed case templates, assisted in conducting interviews, collected photos, and gathered materials for the book and website

Ila is an MA student in Anthropology and Sociology at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. An advocacy consultant for grassroots NGOs, she holds a Master's in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po Paris. lla worked with the team to design this website