How is research used for advocacy and policymaking? To answer this, Silva Mathema will draw on her work about U.S. immigration policy at the Center for American Progress (CAP), including introducing the Center’s mission and vision. She will also discuss how her training and experience as a graduate student at UNC Charlotte prepared her for that role and continues to provide a foundation for her professional growth. This event is organized by the Migration Research Network at UNC Charlotte with support from the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Silva Mathema is an associate director for policy on the Immigration Policy team at the Center for American Progress. Her research focuses on the effects of U.S. immigration policies on the daily lives of immigrants. Some of her current work include topics ranging from refugee policies and immigrant doctors in rural America to Temporary Protected Status. Previously, she worked as a research associate for the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, where she studied the intersections between race and ethnicity issues and policies regarding affordable housing and education.
She earned her Ph.D. in public policy from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where her dissertation focused on the impact of a federal immigration enforcement program on the integration of Hispanic immigrants in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Salem College. She is originally from Kathmandu, Nepal.