Lisa Ruth Brunner

Lisa Ruth Brunner is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Centre for Migration Studies) and instructor (Department of Educational Studies) at the University of British Columbia, located on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territory. She conducts interdisciplinary research on international migration, (im)migrant and refugee integration, and education. Her current postdoctoral work focuses on (1) narratives of Canadian citizenship, and (2) administrative burdens associated with immigrant naturalization.

Lisa's PhD dissertation (external link)  focused on the multi-step recruitment and retention of international students as economic immigrants, i.e., 'edugration.' It examined the shifting roles Canadian higher education institutions play in migration governance from an ethical perspective, particularly related to settler colonialism, surveillance, and border imperialism. Her MA thesis (external link)  probed the meaning of refugee integration by researching the experiences of refugees resettled from Aceh, Indonesia to Metro Vancouver five years after arrival.

Lisa has been a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant in good standing since 2014. She has over a decade of professional experience as a university international student advisor and has completed multiple refugee resettlement research and curriculum design projects with the settlement sector in Canada and the United States. In 2007-2008 she held a Fulbright grant at Bilkent University in Turkey.