Zina Dolan is a junior studying International Relations. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of migration, race, and gender, and she volunteers weekly at New Sanctuary Coalition's legal clinic for asylum seekers. She also works as a Research and Teaching Assistant for the Democratic Erosion Consortium, an international, cross-university collaboration of faculty teaching a shared syllabus on democratic erosion. In addition, Zina serves as an Editor of the Brown Journal of World Affairs and Editorial Intern for Foreign Policy Interrupted, a feminist foreign policy newsletter. In partnership with Planned Parenthood, she also teaches a semester-long sex ed class in Providence high schools. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and spending time outside.

Project:

In the past year, increasing attention has been paid to two important issues—injustices in the immigration system and anti-Black racism—yet little research has been done at the intersections of these two areas. In partnership with New Sanctuary Coalition (NSC), a grassroots migrant justice organization, I will document the distinct experiences of Black migrants and asylum seekers navigating the U.S. immigration system. Informed by the needs of migrants impacted by anti-Black racism, I will develop an intersectional toolkit and training materials for immigration advocacy organizations like NSC to combat anti-Black racism in their work.

Advisor: Elena Shih (American Studies), David Lindstrom (Sociology), Miguel Orea (New Sanctuary Coalition)