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Staff Profile
Melisa Maida is a social and cultural geographer, educator and consultant with 20 years’ experience across charity, cultural and academic sectors. She is currently a Research Associate in the Refugees Care Project. Melisa uses community-based, participatory and creative methods to explore themes of migration, home, belonging, agency and care. Her work creates diverse outputs (including artwork, exhibitions, publications, evaluations and policy briefs) to connect research with lived experience, community practice and collective action. Previously worked in NGOs in the refugee, international development and homelessness sectors.
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I am currently a Post Doctoral Research Associate for the Refugees Care, a project exploring employment pathways for refugee health professionals in the North East of England. While the NHS faces major shortages, refugee doctors and other health professionals experience multiple barriers to gain employment in their professions. Our research explores these issues and will produce a documentary film showcasing stories and voices of refugee healthcare professionals and produce an evaluation. This work connects to my interests in refugee issues and belonging. Employment is key to how people build stability and belonging in a new country especially against a backdrop of exclusion and hostility towards refugees.
My explored the resettlement experiences of refugee families in Tyneside, using visual and participatory methods to understand how people rebuild home, identity, family, care and community in new places.
My research interests also include community-based, participatory and creative methodologies for examining themes of migration, home, belonging, care, agency.
Recent publications include: