Areej Alshammiry

Areej is a researcher, educator, community advocate, a Vanier Scholar and PhD candidate in Sociology at York University, and a Graduate Affiliate of the Centre for Refugee Studies. Her work focuses on the sociology of citizenship and belonging in the Arab Gulf using decolonial and postcolonial feminist approaches, with a particular focus on nomadic Bedouin communities. She brings extensive experience in community-based and participatory research, ethnography, oral history, community engagement, and knowledge mobilization, having worked with grassroots organizations, community leaders and activists, and diverse communities from around the world across a range of social issues.

In addition to the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, one of Canada's most prestigious doctoral awards, Areej is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship and the York University Nominee for the SSHRC Impact Award Talent Category 2026. Her work has been published in Statelessness and Citizenship Review, Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry, New Sociology: Journal of Critical Praxis, and Manchester University Press, with forthcoming publications including in the International Journal of Human Rights.

Beyond academia, Areej has contributed to international advocacy, research, and policy initiatives with several global and regional human rights organizations and UN-affiliated consultations on identity rights and forced migration. She also has extensive experience in community-based and participatory research. She has collaborated with grassroots organizations, service providers, policymakers, and community leaders on projects related to forced migration, refugee settlement, homelessness, gender-based violence, digital equity, and immigration policy. Through her work with the Centre for Community Based Research, the Muslim Advisory Council of Canada, Nisa Homes, and other community partners, she has helped design participatory research initiatives, facilitate community consultations and forums, conduct interviews and surveys, and mobilize research findings into policy reports, evaluation frameworks, public scholarship, and community-facing resources.

Her research has been presented at international and national conferences and associations including the International Sociological Association, Canadian Sociological Association, Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, National Women's Studies Association, the World Conference on Statelessness, King's College London, and Toronto Metropolitan University's Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration program. Across her scholarship, advocacy, and community engagement work, she is committed to centering lived experience, building collaborative knowledge, and advancing more just and inclusive approaches to knowledge production and mobilization.

Community Engagement Manager