People

A native of Illinois, I attended Northern Illinois University and received a Ph.D. in African History from Northwestern University. I have been at Virginia Tech since 2005.  Since the early 2010s, much of my research has focused on refugee history and studies, particularly in Eastern Africa. I work closely with students on undergraduate research projects and numerous service efforts, such as working with immigrant and refugee learners. I’ve had the great pleasure to work closely with Elimisha Kakuma (EK), a college access program in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Teaching and mentoring EK students, and serving beside the EK cofounders, has been enriching and an honor.

Katrina Powell is Alumni Distinguished Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on narratives of displacement, autobiography, and ethics in research methodologies. She is author of several books, including The Anguish of Displacement (University of Virginia Press, 2007), Identity and Power in Narratives of Displacement (Routledge, 2015), and Performing Autobiography (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). She is also editor of Beginning Again: Narratives of Movement and Migration in Appalachia (Haymarket Books, 2024). She is co-director of the Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia project, funded by the Mellon Foundation.

Deirdre Hand is the Community Engagement Specialist for the Center for Rural Education and the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, is a two-time graduate from Virginia Tech and is an educator with a Master’s in Education, Curriculum, and Instruction, with a concentration in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). She grew up in Radford, Virginia, and moved to Floyd County as a teenager, and calls Appalachia and the Blue Ridge Mountains home.  Deirdre has more than 14 years of experience teaching English to speakers of other languages around the world, with highlights including serving as an English Language Fellow through the U.S. State Department in Indonesia, an ESL teacher in Washington D.C. Public Schools, a teaching and research instructor at Virginia Tech, an EFL teacher in the Czech Republic and Ireland, serving as Lead Teacher of a Scholarship Program in Rwanda, working as the English Department Coordinator of a non-profit school in Guatemala, and most recently co-founding Elimisha Kakuma, a university-access program in Kakuma Refugee Camp, in Kenya.  Her passion is promoting educational access to all, especially immigrants, refugees, and other forcibly displaced people.

Marianne Hawthorne is the Office Administrator for the Center for Rural Education and the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies. She has worked at Virginia Tech in Fiscal Operations since 2001. She spent 17 years with the Center for Power Electronic Systems as Fiscal Tech and Administrative Assistant to the Center Director and five years at the National Security Institute and Hume Center as a Senior Fiscal Tech. She received her BS in Business from Radford University. Marianne came to the New River Valley for college and has stayed in the area ever since.

I am a PhD student in ASPECT program and MFA graduate in Arts Leadership from Virginia Tech. I support the Center’s research, publication, and community engagement initiatives that advance scholarship and public dialogue on migration, refuge, and displacement. I also taught students in Elimisha Kakuma, a college-access program in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. My professional practice spans more than a decade across diplomatic missions, nonprofit organizations, and work in a refugee camp in Malawi. This background informs my approach to research and engagement grounded in cultural practice, ethical partnership, and community-centered impact.

I am an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Consulting and Analytics. I am a first-generation college student from South Sudan and Kenya. I am an alumna of Elimisha Kakuma's class of 2023 and later joined the Center to stay connected with both organizations. I work closely with the Center as a social media intern, leadership team member, and event organizer.

Nyanlueth is an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech majoring in Economics with a focus on Managerial and Data Science and planning to minor in Finance. A member of Elimisha Kakuma’s Cohort 3, she developed an early interest in how data, policy, and resource decisions shape people’s everyday realities. She hopes to pursue a career using analytical tools to design systems that expand opportunity for underrepresented communities. At CRMDS, Nyanlueth supports research, communications, and student engagement. Her work includes contributing to refugee-focused projects, drafting center communications, assisting with storytelling initiatives, and collaborating on programs that connect CRMDS with students and community partners.

I am an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology, with a focus on Cybersecurity and Data Analytics. I am currently an intern with CRMDS. I have also served as an intern with EK, supporting students throughout their Elimisha Kakuma application journey. Alongside my professional and academic work, I am also a writer, with selected piece available here, and I am engaged in merit-based scholarship and leadership initiatives through Virginia Tech’s Honors College, including the Stamps Scholarship program.