I moved to Humboldt in 2021 after living and working overseas for over 15 years. During that time, I was a humanitarian aid and development worker in communities affected by war and natural disaster. After earning my BA in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College, I worked in the Office of International Aviation at the Federal Aviation Administration. I then went on to graduate with a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, during which time I was a researcher at the International Crisis Group and the Institute for the Study of International Migration and the Refugee Law Project. The summer after I graduate from Georgetown, I participated in the US State Department investigation into genocide in Darfur. From that point, I embarked on years of living and working in communities affected by war. My field experience spans many contexts, from genocide in Darfur (2004-5) to civil war in Syria (2016-2021) to post-war reconciliation in Burma (2011-2015) and Northern Uganda (2008-10), to name a few. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside survivors of war and resilient communities and am grateful for the opportunity to share firsthand insights with my class and community here at Cal Poly Humboldt.