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Reema Saleh

Pearson Fellow

MPP Candidate

Reema Saleh is a second-year MPP student at Harris Public Policy. She is the lead producer of Root of Conflict podcast, and works as a research assistant for Pearson Faculty Affiliate Kara Ross Camarena. She is pursuing the Global Conflict Studies Certificate, and her policy interests include forced migration, human rights advocacy, and humanitarian aid.

Prior to joining Harris Public Policy, Saleh was an intern with the PartnersGlobal Institute researching peace-building narratives and restorative advocacy practices for the Horizons Project. Previously, she completed internships with Freedom House, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Advocates for Youth, and the African Diaspora Network in Europe. She is a fiction writer, poet, journalist, and creative storyteller. Her work has appeared in Euphony Journal, Memoryhouse Magazine, Blacklight Magazine, Mural Magazine, and other platforms. She also co-produced a podcast for the refugee storytelling organization "Their Story is Our Story" and is passionate about using her research skills for advocacy-driven storytelling.

Saleh holds undergraduate degrees in public policy studies and creative writing from the University of Chicago. During her studies, she founded the student-run Partnership for the Advancement of Refugee Rights and received honors for her thesis, a qualitative research study exploring the role of
internet messaging in refugee assistance programs. She was awarded the Boren Scholarship for Arabic language studies in Jordan and studied abroad in Morocco.

Baidoa, Somalia

Makeshift, temporary shelter made of plastic and clothing at a refugee center in Baidoa, Somalia.