Amir Afkhami, associate professor of public health, is an expert on psychiatry and the impact of conflict on mental health. Dr. Afkhami conceived and led the U.S. State Department’s Iraq Mental Health Initiative and can explore the traumatic psychiatric effect the war in Ukraine could have on the millions escaping the conflict.

Daina Stukuls Eglitis, associate professor of sociology and international affairs, specializes in the experience of women during the Holocaust, World War II, and post-Soviet Eastern Europe. Professor Eglitis is able to delve into the past and present risks to women in war zones and atrocities committed against women by Russian troops in previous conflicts.

Michelle Kelso, assistant professor of sociology and international affairs, focuses on migration within Europe and the memory and commemoration of the Holocaust in former Soviet countries, particularly Ukraine. Professor Kelso can draw on her own experience assisting Ukrainians escaping conflict zones to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country.

Robert Orttung, research professor of international affairs, can discuss the impact of the ongoing Ukrainian exodus on Europe and the U.S., look into the tools and tactics the U.S. government can use to carry out the resettlement of tens of thousands of Ukrainians, and explain how the U.S. can lighten the humanitarian load for its European allies.

Source: George Washington University