Melisa Maida

Melisa Maida is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Global Development (CGD) at Northumbria University. Her PhD research examines the negotiation of belonging of refugee and asylum seeking families in Tyneside. 

She has a particular interest in forced migration and displacement, belonging, intimacy and home-making and agency, resourcefulness and adaptation. She approaches research with collaborative, community-based, participatory and creative methods (photovoice).

She is currently working within the Volunteering, Climate Adaptation and Disasters (VOCAD) research group, part of the UKRI-GCRF Living Deltas Research Hub wider collaborative project. This project explores the ways individuals and organisations mobilise labour in their approaches to crisis response and adaptation.

Prior to her PhD, Melisa worked for humanitarian and charitable organisations including Voluntary Services Overseas, North of England Refugee Service and Crisis UK.

Key areas of interest: Refugees and displacement; Belonging, intimacy and home-making;  Agency, resilience, resourcefulness and adaptation; Volunteering and mobilisation; Solidarity; Collaborative, creative and participatory methodologies; Photovoice.