Research Affiliates | The Centre

Alfred Deakin Professor Matthew Clarke

Pro-Vice Chancellor Researcher Development, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, HDR Supervisions, Industry partnerships

Prof Matthew Clarke has previously held formal roles with the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, including as Chair and Deputy Chair, and separately as Head of Centre and Interim Centre Director. In 2010, he co-edited a volume on the Reconstruction of Aceh following the Indian Ocean Tsunami and a review of humanitarian workers’ experience during this response (published in 2008). Since the Centre’s establishment, he has continued undertaking research in this field as well as supervising a number of the Centre’s PhD students.

Prof Clarke has attended the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Save the Children US office as part of a Fulbright Fellowship in Non-Profit Leadership which was awarded due to his leadership of the Centre. His current research considers the nexus between religion and development/humanitarian work, and he maintains an interest in humanitarian education.

Dr Tina Daniel

Researcher, School of Education, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships

Dr Tina Daniel is an experienced teacher and early career researcher who has worked in Australia and internationally to improve learning access for second language learners and students with learning difficulties. She is motivated to drive collaborative efforts to enact change that focus on the needs of students too often neglected by government and school systems. Dr Daniel’s doctoral research focused on issues of social justice and equity for struggling readers through the lens of Paolo Freire’s late writings and the Theory of Practice Architectures. Her current work builds focuses on three key areas: trauma-informed teaching and the potential for teachers as humanitarian leaders, the equity and social justice implications of appropriate early reading instruction, and the challenges to equity, social justice and distributed power via the inappropriate translation of early reading research into teacher practice.

Dr Zouhir Gabsi

Senior Lecturer, Arabic and Islamic Studies

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships, HDR Supervisions

Dr Zouhir Gabsi is passionate about making a positive change to society. His current research focuses on Tunisian youth’s marginalisation and minority communities in the Arab world. He is also engaged in research on xenophobia and Islamophobia, which is the subject of his forthcoming book. Dr Gabsi is multilingual with an intimate understanding of global societies. His interest in youth studies emanates from marginalisation – in North Africa, particularly, there is an unfolding humanitarian crisis due to clandestine migration and suicide. Dr Gabsi’s research attempts to understand the psychology of these youth, their concerns, and culture.

Ms. Hedyeh Gamini Esfahani

PhD Candidate, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University

Available for: HDR Supervisions, Consultancies, Industry partnerships

Ms. Hedyeh Gamini Esfahani was awarded a PhD scholarship with Deakin University’s HOME Research Hub to work on the Young Maggie Centre Project. Her thesis is titled “Young Maggie Centre: Investigating an appropriate design model for caring for children and their families living with life-limiting conditions”. The aim of this thesis is to present an appropriate design model for terminally ill children and their parents that adapts the Maggie’s Centre model.

Ms. Gamini has researched and studied disaster response in Iran, particularly as it relates to design and spaces for children. Her master’s thesis “The Role of Child-Friendly Spaces after the Bam Earthquake of 2003 in Iran” was selected as the best thesis in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning. She has published more than 10 papers related to children, architecture, disaster, and design.

Dr Leanne Kelly

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University

Available for: Industry partnerships

Dr Leanne Kelly is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on an Australian Research Council linkage project led by Associate Professor Anthony Ware and Professor Greg Barton. The project explores appropriate humanitarian-development NGO responses to preventing and countering violent extremism in Asia and Africa. Dr Kelly also works as the National Evaluation Advisor for Emergency Services at the Australian Red Cross.

Ms Kirstin Kreyscher

PhD Candidate, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships

Ms Kirstin Kreyscher is a current HDR candidate and holds a Master in Globalisation and Development Studies. Her research explores the barriers and enablers to the livelihoods of youth living in disaster and conflict-prone regions of the Philippines. This includes the critical analysis of underlying causes of vulnerability in the daily life of youth, and the identification of risks and challenges to all forms of hazards that from a fragile lifestyle for them. The research seeks to support affected minority groups by highlighting practical examples of meaningful agency of youth upholding their rights to be heard. Ms Kreyscher employs methodologies in digital and visual ethnography to create new ways of working with local knowledge. Previous research includes youth’s knowledge and agency in participatory settings on disaster risk in the Philippines.

Mr Prahlad Lamichhane

PhD Candidate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships

Mr Prahlad Lamichhane is a risk, resilience, and development management expert with a more than 10 year’s experience in humanitarian support programs in developing country contexts. His work has mainly concentrated on food security, climate and disaster risk management, and emergency response in Nepal. He holds interdisciplinary university degrees in resources engineering, environmental management, and health education and his PhD project, ‘Enhancing resilience of smallholder agriculture’, aims to explore adaptive capacities, barriers to adaptation, and identifying the alternative policy pathways to contribute to enhanced food security and livelihood support. Additionally, Mr Lamichhane is highly skilled in humanitarian project development, management, and evaluation. He has facilitated numerous training and workshops and delivered independent consulting services.

Dr Fiona McKay

Senior Lecturer, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, HDR Supervisions, Industry partnerships

Dr Fiona McKay is a qualitative researcher working with human rights and populations who are vulnerable to a range of human rights abuses. She has several years’ experience exploring inequities experienced by groups whose lives are impacted by social and institutional policies and negative community perceptions.

Dr McKay’s current work is related to the right to food beyond calories, with an exploration of who is responsible for ensuring this right. Her recent two areas of research are focused on the provision of emergency and community food assistance in Australia, and on the lived experience of food insecurity and scarcity alongside a range of non-communicable diseases experienced by women in Punjab, India. Dr McKay has also been commissioned to conduct research on the impact of COVID-19 on food relief in Geelong, Australia.

Dr Joseph Kamara

Honorary Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University; Regional Director, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, World Vision International, East Africa Region

Available for: HDR Supervisions, Consultancies, Industry partnerships

Dr Joseph Kamara is an experienced humanitarian and development professional, who has worked in middle and senior leadership roles across various geographic regions. Dr Kamara earned his PhD from Western Sydney University in 2021, and also holds a Master of International and Community Development from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Development Studies from Makerere University. His work blends both theory and practice. He has specific interests in disaster resilience, climate change, child rights/protection, and public health—all areas which Dr Kamara believes are critical tenets of humanitarianism. He has authored over 20 peer reviewed papers and commissioned reports, and has delivered lectures for both university and non-university settings.

A/Prof Max Kelly

Associate Professor, International and Community Development, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, HDR Supervisions, Industry partnerships

A/Prof Max Kelly is strongly committed to critical reflection on the theory and practice of development and humanitarian field of research. She has a strong background in analysing the political and economic structures that contribute to ongoing marginalisation and the many diverse voices that make up the development and humanitarian sector. Her focus has been primarily international and community development, mostly in Africa with some focus on post-conflict contexts (Timor Leste and Northern Uganda).

A/Prof Kelly’s recent research focuses on the localisation debate, as a way of trying to centre critical theorising of humanitarian discourse. This nascent research, in partnership with A/Prof Mary Ana McGlasson and Dr Maree Pardy, is designed to focus discourse towards the complex engagement (or lack thereof) between international and local stakeholders, with a focus on power, and the amplification of diverse voices.

Alfred Deakin Professor Matthew Clarke

Dr Tina Daniel

Dr Zouhir Gabsi

Ms. Hedyeh Gamini Esfahani

Dr Leanne Kelly

Ms Kirstin Kreyscher

Mr Prahlad Lamichhane

Dr Fiona McKay

Dr Joseph Kamara

A/Prof Max Kelly

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