OUR PEOPLE

OUR PEOPLE – PAST AND PRESENT

Lucy Bassett

CO-DIRECTOR

PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE OF PUBLIC POLICY, BATTEN SCHOOL

Kirsten Gelsdorf

CO-DIRECTOR

PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE OF PUBLIC POLICY, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN POLICY, BATTEN SCHOOL

Sanny Yang

Operations Intern

MPP, BATTEN SCHOOL

Student Testimonials from Fall 2022

Over the course of about 6 months, I worked with another research assistant and the United Nations Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Middle East and North Africa Chief of Section, Greg Puley, on a report about the humanitarian implications of heatwaves. My main contributions included: copy editing the report text; curating graphics to include in the report; and synthesizing key findings to create the executive summary and other synopsis documents, including a powerpoint presentation. The report covers both heatwave-related information humanitarians need to know and recommendations for preventing heatwaves from becoming emergencies. The comprehensive nature of the report allowed us to cover topics like climate science, the sociology of heatwave impacts, and community-based preventative policy options, all with a focus on presenting actionable insights for OCHA decision makers and other humanitarian actors. 

The summer after we finished the bulk of the report (2022), heatwaves burst into news coverage much more than they had in the past, emphasizing the importance of the research we had done, which was both validating and distressing. Being a part of this project has given me a deeper and more personal appreciation for the magnitude of effort it will take to respond to the ramifications of climate change and the inequities they will exacerbate. I can say with confidence that this experience has heightened the sense of urgency I feel to push for innovation in humanitarian operations and climate adaptation.

Anna Grace Calhoun

Over the past few months, Anna Grace and I had the opportunity to serve as Research Assistants to Greg Puley, the Chief of Section for the Middle East and North Africa for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on his report titled “Extreme Heat: Preparing for the Heatwaves of the Future.” This report provides a synthesis of the impacts of extreme heat, as well as a road map for humanitarian actors as they address these challenges. Throughout this project, our main responsibilities included reviewing the report text, analyzing graphics to include in the report, creating synthesized versions of the report, and citing the report sources in the bibliography.

Working on this report has been an incredibly meaningful experience because the impacts of extreme heat are a reality that will soon be impossible to ignore. Further, extreme heat disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations and has an inseparable connection to the way humanitarian aid is conducted. There is an incredible urgency to this situation, and I am honored to have had the chance to work on a project which can not only serve as an educational resource about the impacts of extreme heat, but also as a tool to plan for and act on the challenges created by climate change.

Lily Toruteva

With the support of the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative, I had the opportunity to attend the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum (SVRI) 2022 in Cancún, Mexico along with Jeanne Ward. SVRI is the leading global conference on violence against women and violence against children in low- and middle-income countries. As an SVRI delegate, I met researchers and practitioners working on gender-based violence (GBV) from across the humanitarian sector and had the opportunity to present initial findings from an independent research study on the role of feminist leadership in global humanitarian response. This research looked at three selected case studies (Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and the Syrian regional response) to determine the extent to which humanitarian program documents reflected key principles of a feminist approach—such as an understanding of power and privilege and a focus on women and girls.

One of my favorite parts of the conference was getting to co-facilitate a brainstorming session (see photo below) entitled “Walking the Talk: Applying Feminist Principles to Humanitarian Practice and Beyond” along with Jeanne and Iris Nxumalo-De Smidt from the Coalition of Feminists for Social Change (COFEM). This meeting brought together a small group of feminists and GBV experts to discuss how to operationalize feminist principles to improve humanitarian action and will be used to inform the next phase of this work with the GBV Area-of-Responsibility Helpdesk.

Jule Voss