Jorge Capetillo-Ponce is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, specializing in social theory, race and ethnic relations, media studies, and Latino studies. His research bridges theoretical frameworks with empirical analyses of marginalized communities. PhD from The New School for Social Research His work explores intersections of transnational migration, ethnic identity formation, and critical policy analysis, particularly focusing on Latinx and Black communities in Boston, Maya K’iche migrants in New Bedford, and Cuban sociopolitical contexts. Collaborations include co-edited volumes on migrant marginality and analyses of Foucauldian and Marxist theories in contemporary settings. Publications span critical engagements with scholars like Gloria Anzaldúa and Octavio Paz, examining borderlands theory, cultural hybridity, and sociological methodologies for understanding systemic inequities.
Pankhuri Agarwal is a Researcher and Research Associate in the School of Management at the University of Bath. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Bristol (2017–2021) and an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (2015–2016). Her work focuses on intersections of sociology and management studies, addressing topics like work exploitation, migration, trafficking, and bureaucracy. She leads a UKRI-funded project examining dignity in global supply chains across India and the UK’s garment/IT sectors. External roles include Co-Convenor of the British Sociological Association’s Slavery and Modern Slavery study group. Key projects include the 'Digital Dilemmas' initiative exploring tech’s role in combating modern slavery (2025–2025). Research interests emphasize ethnography, bureaucracy, and temporality in labor contexts. Notable publications include studies on post-rescue bonded laborers in India, undocumented workers in Italy, and systemic global supply chain reforms. Media engagements include commentaries on Leicester garment industry scandals and modern slavery rescues’ realities.
Stephanie Potochnick, Ph.D. , is an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte . Her work bridges social demography, immigration policy, and health and education equity for immigrant youth. Office: Fretwell 476B Email: spotochn@uncc.edu , spotochn@charlotte.edu Phone: 704-687-7835 Research Interests Social Demography Immigrant Youth Health and Education Population and Migration Policy Health and Education Policy Recent Research Trends : Her publications focus on the impacts of immigration enforcement (e.g., raids, local policies) on mental health and educational outcomes for immigrant children, food insecurity among low-income immigrant families, and post-migration mobility linked to pre-migration schooling. Teaching Responsibilities : Courses include Immigration Policy (SOCY 4091), Sociological Research Methods (SOCY 3155), and graduate-level classes in public health and policy analysis.
Lauren Heidbrink, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), part of the College of Liberal Arts. Her research focuses on global childhood studies, transnational migration, and Central America, particularly migrant youth experiences in U.S. detention systems and post-deportation trajectories. She co-founded the journal Youth Circulations and holds leadership roles in internship coordination and departmental advising. Dr. Heidbrink earned a doctorate in anthropology from Johns Hopkins University, with additional degrees from DePaul University and the University of Virginia. She received the Fulbright 70th Anniversary Scholar Award for comparative child migration research in Europe. Her research emphasizes the intersection of state policies, youth agency, and family dynamics. Notable works include Migrant Youth, Transnational Families, and the State: Care and Contested Interests and Migranthood: Youth in a New Era of Deportation , analyzing detention systems, deportation impacts, and indigenous youth mobility. She advocates for policy reforms to improve child welfare and opposes harmful detention practices. As HDEV internship coordinator, she oversees capstone placements for seniors, emphasizing community engagement and career readiness. Her work bridges academia and practice, supporting students in human services, advocacy, and policy fields.
William A. Calvo-Quirós is an Assistant Professor of American Culture and Latinx Studies at the University of Michigan. His work centers on the intersection of state violence, religiosity, and migration, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border. He explores how vernacular religious practices (e.g., devotion to saints like Jesús Malverde and La Santa Muerte) serve as tools of resistance and identity formation for migrants. Key research interests include transnational religious migration, gender violence, LGBTQ+ spirituality, and the sociopolitical dimensions of border regions. His award-winning book Undocumented Saints: The Politics of Migrating Devotions investigates how Latinx communities reimagine faith in spaces like detention centers and digital platforms. Calvo-Quirós utilizes ethnographic methods and interdisciplinary approaches, engaging with legal documents, oral histories, and cultural artifacts. His recent work extends to themes of hope, decolonial theory, and queer migration pathways. Recipient of the 2023 American Academy of Religion Best First Book Award 2023 Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize (American Society of Church History) Research focuses on marginalized communities' spiritual practices as acts of survival
Elizabeth Cohen is the Maxwell Professor of United States Citizenship in the Department of Political Science at Boston University. She serves as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Political Science . Her expertise spans citizenship studies, immigration policy, democratic theory, and political philosophy. Cohen holds a BA from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. from Yale University, with visiting scholar appointments at Princeton University, Russell Sage Foundation, and New York University's Wagner School of Public Service. Her research focuses on the intersection of time, citizenship, and democratic justice. Notable works include Illegal: How America’s Lawless Immigration Regime Threatens Us All (2020) and The Political Value of Time: Citizenship, Duration, and Democratic Justice (2018), which won the 2019 APSA Best Book in Migration and Citizenship. Her scholarship explores themes like temporary protections, citizenship rights, and the legal and ethical dimensions of immigration. Cohen’s op-eds have appeared in the Washington Post , The Atlantic , and Politico , bridging academic research with public discourse. Her recent work addresses climate migration, refugee policies, and the evolving legal frameworks of citizenship in federal systems. Awards: 2019 APSA Best Book in Migration and Citizenship Labs/Teams: Engages with interdisciplinary research networks on citizenship and migration studies
Thomas Snyder is a Professor of Economics at the University of Central Arkansas's College of Business. His research spans labor economics, entrepreneurship, public policy, and international finance. Key areas include occupational licensing, minority business success, charter school impacts, and regulatory effects on economic activity. Research Trends: His work analyzes how policy frameworks shape labor markets, entrepreneurship, and educational outcomes. Recent studies focus on migration, DACA recipients' economic integration, and moral hazard in international lending. Publications: A prolific scholar, Snyder has published extensively on topics such as natural resource economics, charter schools, and state-level licensing regulations, with a geographic emphasis on Arkansas and China.
Yesim Deveci is a Senior Lecturer at the University of East London (UEL) affiliated with the Childhood & Social Care research institute. Her work focuses on refugee rights, migration policies, education equity, and child welfare. She explores issues such as undocumented youth experiences, psychosocial support for refugee children, and reflective practices in social work education. Her research outputs include studies on HE equity for refugees, the psychosocial well-being of separated refugee children, and Black feminist theory in Europe. Her recent work highlights the intersection of migration, legal status, and youth resilience in the UK. Dr. Deveci's publications span peer-reviewed journals like Social Sciences and Journal of Social Work Practice , as well as book chapters in collections such as To Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe .
Marla A. Ramírez is an Assistant Professor of History and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. from the University of California system, and an A.A. from Cerritos Community College. Her research focuses on US-Mexico borderlands history, emphasizing mass immigration removals' impact on citizenship and mixed-status families. She is author of the forthcoming book Banished Citizens (Harvard UP, 2025), which examines interwar period repatriations targeting Mexican Americans. Her second book project, Familiar Strangers , analyzes transnational policy influences on citizenship revocation. Ramírez leads community-engaged initiatives like the Wisconsin Latinx History Collective, training over 300 students in oral history methods. She serves on the Smithsonian's Undocumented Organizing Collecting Initiative advisory committee, documenting DACA activists' impact. Awards include the Oral History Association Article Award and multiple research fellowships.
Amanda D. Rodewald is the Garvin Professor and Senior Director of the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a Faculty Director at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, and a professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University. She previously spent 13 years as a professor at Ohio State University, with over 190 scientific papers, a textbook in ornithology, and extensive popular writings since 2000. Education: Ph.D. in Ecology, Pennsylvania State University (2000) M.S. in Zoology, University of Arkansas (1995) B.S. in Wildlife Biology, University of Montana (1992) Research Interests: Rodewald’s work bridges ecology and conservation, focusing on socioecological challenges in temperate and tropical working landscapes. She employs field studies and participatory science to address threats like deforestation, climate change, and invasive species, while integrating social sciences to develop solutions that meet ecological and societal needs. Her projects emphasize shade coffee systems, urban ecosystems, migratory bird conservation, and innovative financing mechanisms for biodiversity protection. Awards & Honors: Alfred Newton Academic Prize Lecture (British Ornithological Union, 2024) William Brewster Memorial Award (American Ornithological Society, 2022) Honorary Doctorate (Universidad Cientifica del Perú, 2018) Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017) (Additional awards listed in the full description.) Advising & Partnerships: Rodewald has advised 20 Ph.D., 19 M.S., and 10 postdoctoral students, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations with practitioners, NGOs, and government agencies. She testified before Congress on conservation issues and serves on the EPA Science Advisory Board, advocating for evidence-based policies. Labs & Teams: As leader of the Center for Avian Population Studies, she harnesses big data (e.g., eBird) and citizen science to guide conservation decisions. Her work spans partnerships with the private sector, coffee farmers, and international organizations to align conservation with human livelihoods and climate goals.
Amy Lutz is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Her affiliations include Women's and Gender Studies, Asian-Asian American Studies, and Latino-Latin American Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from SUNY Albany (2002) and a B.A. in Sociology from Boston College (1994). Her research focuses on education, families, immigration, and racial inequalities, with emphasis on immigrant children's experiences, pandemic impacts on caregiving, and global migration patterns. Recent work includes Mothering in the Time of Coronavirus (2025) analyzing caregiving challenges during pandemics and studies on Ukrainian refugee students in Poland. She has secured grants from the Russell Sage Foundation and National Science Foundation for projects like 'Immigrants and Children of Immigrants in the U.S. Military' and pandemic-related studies. Teaching responsibilities include courses on sociology of families, racial inequalities, and immigration. She actively serves on committees like the Maxwell Citizenship and Civic Engagement Major and the DACA/Undocumented Students Task Force. Her media engagements include commentary on language retention among immigrants.
Dr. Antje Ellermann is a Professor of Political Science and co-founder of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of British Columbia. She is an expert in migration politics and citizenship studies in the global North, with a focus on Canada, Europe, and the United States. Her research integrates comparative politics and public policy analysis with colonial/post-colonial theory. Current affiliations: UBC Faculty of Arts, Centre for Migration Studies Key research areas: Migration policy, citizenship, settler colonialism, qualitative methods Her recent work examines community-engaged research collaborations in Metro Vancouver and comparative immigration bureaucracies across Canada, Australia, and the UK. She has authored two major monographs: States Against Migrants (2009) and The Comparative Politics of Immigration (2021), the latter winning the Charles H. Levine Memorial Book Prize. Her 15 most recent publications explore topics spanning comparative immigration policy , probationary immigration status , deportation politics , and decolonizing citizenship narratives . 2022 Charles H. Levine Book Prize 2014 APSA Best Article Award 2006 UBC Early Career Scholar As a graduate supervisor, she mentors over 20 PhD and MA students in topics ranging from high-skilled immigration policy to Indigenous sovereignty and radical right politics. Her research is supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, SSHRC, and DAAD.
Arely Zimmerman is an Associate Professor of Intercollegiate Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies at Pomona College since 2018. Her research focuses on the politics of migration, race and gender dynamics in citizenship, Central American studies, and the intersection of social media with youth activism in Latino/a communities. Ph.D. in Political Science from University of California, Los Angeles M.A. in Political Science from University of California, Los Angeles B.A. in Political Science from University of California, Los Angeles Her academic work explores: Political activism of undocumented youth Transnational Central American communities Critical race and gender perspectives in citizenship Digital media's role in social movements Educational equity for Latinx students Recent publications examine social media activism, immigrant inclusion struggles, and connected civics frameworks. She previously held fellowships at NYU and USC before joining Pomona College. Mellon Fellow in Social Movements (University of Southern California) Faculty Fellow, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (NYU) At Pomona, she teaches courses on Central American studies, Latinx citizenship, and immigrant youth activism.
Asad L. Asad is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stanford University and a faculty affiliate at the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE). His research agenda examines how institutional categories like citizenship and legal status shape inequality through immigration enforcement, health outcomes, and social control mechanisms. B.A. in Political Science and Spanish, University of Wisconsin A.M. and Ph.D. in Sociology, Harvard University His work bridges multiple subfields, including: Immigration Policy: Analysis of deportation systems and their societal impacts Social Determinants: Linking legal status to health disparities Urban Sociology: Residential strategies under surveillance Legal Sociology: Judicial decision-making in immigration courts Population Studies: Longitudinal analysis of Latino communities Recent publications (2024-2025) expand on temporal trends in deportation fears, spatial dimensions of immigration policing, and advocacy perspectives reshaping policy frameworks. Earlier empirical work (2018-2019) established foundational connections between undocumented status and health outcomes, while his 2023 book Engage and Evade received multiple academic awards. Scientific recognition includes awards from: American Political Science Association American Sociological Association Order of the Coif Mellon Mays Faculty Mentor Award Stanford Dean’s Teaching Award Research funding has been secured through the National Science Foundation and Russell Sage Foundation. He teaches courses on race, ethnicity, immigration, and research methodology.
Jakub Stachowski is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). His research focuses on international migration, local community dynamics, and rural sociology, with particular expertise in Polish migrant experiences in Norway. He explores intersections between mobility, social integration, and place-based identities through ethnographic methods. Current project: War's Edges examines how border communities in Norway and Poland adapt to the Ukraine war's impacts. Key themes: socio-spatial isolation, health practices among migrants, and ethical challenges in rural ethnography. His recent publications analyze superdiversity in rural areas, recognition gaps in agricultural migration, and translocal social anchoring. He teaches courses on inequality, welfare, and social theory.
