About

Rona Karimi is a PhD researcher in Peace and Conflict Studies at International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo, Japan, with a professional background in refugee resettlement, immigration, legal services, and community-based advocacy. She holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from ICU, a Master of Applied Politics from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Paralegal Studies from Conestoga College.

Rona has extensive experience working with refugees and newcomers in Canada. As a Case Manager at Reception House Waterloo Region, she supported refugees in navigating housing, immigration, legal, employment, and social-service systems, while advocating for their rights and providing culturally sensitive, trauma-informed support. She has also worked in emergency shelter services and has extensive volunteer experience assisting individuals and families with immigration and refugee sponsorship applications.

Her academic and professional work brings together legal knowledge, refugee protection, migration, peace and conflict, and community-based approaches to justice. Her current doctoral research examines how Afghan immigrants in Toronto narrate their experiences of marriage, migration, and resettlement, with particular attention to identity, relationships, belonging, and social integration.

Drawing on her experience across legal, humanitarian, and academic settings, Rona is particularly interested in access to justice, refugee and migrant rights, and approaches that connect legal knowledge and services with the lived experiences of displaced and marginalized communities.