Our team is made up of political scientists with diverse regional expertise
EVELYN ERSANILLI
Principal Investigator
Evelyn Ersanilli is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Principal Investigator of the RIGHTS project.
She obtained her MSc in interdisciplinary Social Science from Utrecht University (the Netherlands) and her PhD in Sociology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She previously worked at the International Migration Institute (IMI) at the University of Oxford, the WZB Berlin Social Science Research Centre (Germany) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
She was an associate member of Nuffield College, University of Oxford (2014-2016). Dr. Ersanilli has conducted research on immigrant integration in Western Europe and migration policy development in South Korea. Her research has been published in several leading academic journals.
MIRA BURMEISTER-RUDOLPH
PhD researcher
Mira Burmeister-Rudolph is a PhD researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
She graduated from the interdisciplinary Master’s of Arts degree program International Migration and Intercultural Relations at the University of Osnabrück and earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in South Asian Studies from the University of Heidelberg. Her research has been on migration politics and governance, policy analysis with a focus on Europe and South Asia.
Previously, she has worked as a coordinator for integration projects and strategies for German municipalities.
KIDJIE SAGUIN
Assistant Professor
Kidjie Saguin is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
He is a public policy scholar interested in understanding how governments solve pressing contemporary governance challenges. He researches comparative public policy with a substantive focus on social policies in emerging economies. His interest on migration focuses on explaining why and how labor sending countries provide welfare services to migrant workers abroad.
Kidjie has a PhD in Public Policy from the National University of Singapore and was recently a Fox Fellow at Yale University.
ANNISA SEKARINGRAT
Researcher
Annisa Sekaringrat is a researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
She graduated from the Master of Science in Global Migration at the University College London and obtained a Bachelor of International Relations at Universitas Airlangga. Her research has been on the experience of mature student migrants.
She previously worked on international student mobility, refugee resettlement and high-skilled migrants’ placement in Indonesia.
JONATHAN PRESLEY
Researcher
Jonathan Presley is a researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
He has an Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Human and Social Science with a specialization in transnational migration from the University of Lille, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Hanover College in the United States. He is interested in the evolution of African migration flows and policy, migration and development, and diaspora relations.
He has previously worked extensively in international development projects and cross-cultural exchange programs throughout West Africa and Latin America.
PETER ROLOFF
Research Assistant
Peter Roloff is a third year BA political science student and a research assistant for the RIGHTS project.
He is currently volunteering as an English teacher with the student-foundation Right2Education. Within his studies, Peter is specializing in public policy and his research interests include migration policy, environmental policy, and workers’ rights in the ‘gig economy’.
LIBERTY CHEE
Research Associate
Liberty Chee is research associate of the RIGHTS project.
Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has also been a postdoctoral fellow at the Asia Research Institute in the National University of Singapore where she also completed her PhD in Political Science. Her research is on the role of non-state actors in migration governance, with an empirical focus on Southeast Asia.
Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed her MA in Australia, worked on population and development advocacy and has held various teaching posts in the Philippines.
ERNESTO DE LEON WILLIAMS
Research Assistant
Ernesto de León is a Research Master’s student at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Research Assistant for the RIGHTS project.
Born in the Dominican Republic, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico. Here, he worked in the areas of foreign policy, gender violence, human rights, and Mexican migration through work at the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Queretaro Human Rights Ombudsman Office. His current research interests are in empirical comparative politics with a regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.
DAVID RYPEL
Research Assistant
David Rypel is a Research Master’s student in Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is a research assistant on the RIGHTS project.
David obtained a Master’s degree (Mgr.) in Security and Strategic Studies from Masaryk University, the Czech Republic, where he also earned Bachelor’s degrees (Bc.) in Political Science and International Relations & Security Studies. His research interest focuses on violence and security, and especially their manifestations in everyday lives.
Previously, he did internships in the Georgian Institute of Politics, Tbilisi, and the Institute of International Relations, Prague. He also served as a regional coordinator of a Czech student-led educational campaign that aimed to dispel myths about the so-called refugee crisis among high schoolers.