Katie Kuschminder is Head of Climate and Migration at United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security, where she leads the Environment and Migration: Interactions and Choices (EMIC) Division.
Dr. Kuschminder leads the EMIC division research on the interactions of human mobility in the context of climate change (HMCC). Her current research extends understandings of HMCC into the context of return migration and reintegration processes. Dr. Kuschminder is also the Principal Investigator of the Reintegrate Project, funded by an ERC Starting Grant and hosted by the University of Amsterdam. This project examines reintegration governance across multiple countries.
Previously, Dr. Kuschminder was Associate Professor at Maastricht University and UNU-MERIT. She has conducted research for several international organizations and development organizations including IOM, UNHCR, ILO, ICMPD, GIZ, WFP and the World Bank. From 2016-2018 she held a Rubicon Fellowship at the European University Institute, funded by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research. She is the co-editor of the Handbook of Return Migration (2022, with Russell King) and author of Reintegration Strategies (2017).
Her research has been published in leading journals including Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Antipode, Globalization and Health, and Journal of Refugee Studies. Dr. Kuschminder holds a PhD from Maastricht University.